Downhill, Women

The women’s downhill was originally scheduled for Hafjell, where the technical events were contested. But the women skiers protested that the course was too flat and easy, and the Lillehammer organizers responded and moved the women’s downhill to Kvitfjell, where the other speed events were being raced. The ski world was still in mourning as only a few weeks before the Lillehammer Olympics top Austrian contender and super-G World Champion in 1989 and 1991, Ulrike Maier, crashed during a downhill at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, breaking her neck and dying within minutes.

Katja Seizinger was the heaviest favorite in any Alpine event in Lillehammer, having led the World Cup since 1992, winning seven World Cup downhill races during that time. Seizinger confirmed her favorite’s status, going off third, and posting a time that won the gold medal easily. The silver medal went to American Picabo Street, who was still a bit of an unknown quantity, but who would win the 1995 and 1996 World Cup downhills, and an Olympic gold medal in the 1998 super-G.