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Alpine Skiing at the 1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Games:

Women's Downhill

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Host City: Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy
Venue(s): Canalone, Cortina d'Ampezzo
Date Started: February 1, 1956
Date Finished: February 1, 1956

Gold: SUI Madeleine Chamot-Berthod
Silver: SUI Frieda Dänzer
Bronze: CAN Lucile Wheeler

Summary

Switzerland’s Ida Schöpfer was World Champion in 1954 in the downhill and combined but she had retired by the time of the Cortina Winter Olympics. This left the favorite’s role to her teammate, Madeleine Berthod, who had won two silvers at the Bad Gastein Worlds in 1954. Canada’s Lucille Wheeler was the third starter and her time of 1:45.9 was leading as Berthod entered the start gate. Berthod shattered Wheeler’s mark, finishing in 1:40.7, and was never challenged, as only Swiss teammate Frieda Dänzer came within five seconds of her time to win silver. Berthod’s winning margin of 4.7 seconds is the largest ever by a woman in Olympic Alpine history. Wheeler’s time comfortably held on for the bronze medal.

Final Standings

Rank Athlete Age Team NOC Medal T
1 Madeleine Chamot-Berthod 24 Switzerland SUI Gold 1:40.7
2 Frieda Dänzer 24 Switzerland SUI Silver 1:45.4
3 Lucile Wheeler 21 Canada CAN Bronze 1:45.9
4T Giuliana Chenal-Minuzzo 24 Italy ITA 1:47.3
4T Hilde Hofherr 25 Austria AUT 1:47.3
6 Carla Marchelli 20 Italy ITA 1:47.7
7 Thea Hochleitner 30 Austria AUT 1:47.9
8 Josette Nevière 22 France FRA 1:49.2
9 Borghild Niskin 31 Norway NOR 1:49.5
10 Gladys Werner 22 United States USA 1:49.6
11 Anna Pellissier 28 Italy ITA 1:49.7
12 Trude Klecker 29 Austria AUT 1:50.6
13 Putzi Frandl 25 Austria AUT 1:51.0
14 Aleksandra Artyomenko Soviet Union URS 1:51.1
15T Eivor Berglund 20 Sweden SWE 1:51.6
15T Rosemarie Reichenbach 20 Switzerland SUI 1:51.6
17 Barbara Grocholska 28 Poland POL 1:51.7
18 Ingrid Englund 29 Sweden SWE 1:51.8
19 Maria Kowalska 26 Poland POL 1:51.9
20 Ossi Reichert 30 Germany GER 1:52.3
21 Marysette Agnel 29 France FRA 1:52.4
22T Anne Heggtveit 17 Canada CAN 1:53.2
22T Carlyn Kruger 19 Canada CAN 1:53.2
24 Madeleine Front 25 France FRA 1:53.6
25 Hedi Beeler 24 Switzerland SUI 1:54.0
26 Inger Jørgensen 25 Norway NOR 1:54.3
27 Astrid Sandvik 16 Norway NOR 1:54.4
28 Slava Zupančič 24 Yugoslavia YUG 1:54.5
29 Hannelore Glaser-Franke 23 Germany GER 1:54.7
30 Andrea Mead-Lawrence 23 United States USA 1:55.2
31 Jakobína Jakobsdóttir 23 Iceland ISL 1:57.2
32 Sonja Sperl 19 Germany GER 1:57.8
33 Ginette Seguin 21 Canada CAN 1:58.2
34 Penny Pitou 17 United States USA 1:58.9
35 Zandra Nowell 19 Great Britain GBR 1:59.0
36 Vera Schenone 15 Italy ITA 1:59.2
37 Yevgeniya Kabina-Sidorova 25 Soviet Union URS 1:59.8
38 Dorothy Surgenor 24 United States USA 2:01.5
39 Christine Davy 21 Australia AUS 2:01.6
40 Magdalena Marotineanu 24 Romania ROU 2:04.0
41 Renate Holmes 26 Great Britain GBR 2:05.0
42 Vivi-Anne Wassdahl 23 Sweden SWE 2:08.0
43 Jeanne Sandford 29 Great Britain GBR 2:15.1
44 Elena Epuran 24 Romania ROU 2:27.7
AC Edith Bonlieu 21 France FRA DNF
AC Mirl Buchner 31 Germany GER DNF
AC Maria Gąsienica Daniel-Szatkowska 19 Poland POL DNF