Olympic Winter Games Grenoble 1968

Grenoble 1968

Date6 February - 18 February

CountryFrance

Athletes1158

Teams37

Events35

Results Highlights

About the Games

Olympic Firsts

Norway won the most medals, the first time a country other than the USSR had done so. Gender tests for women were introduced, as were doping controls for both men and women. The Grenoble Games were also the first to be broadcast in colour.

Slalom Controversy

French hero Jean-Claude Killy swept the men’s Alpine events, but only after great controversy. Killy’s Austrian rival, Karl Schranz, claimed that a race official crossed his path during the slalom race, causing him to skid to a halt. Given a restart, Schranz beat Killy’s time. However, a Jury of Appeal disqualified Schranz and gave the victory to Killy.

Memorable Champions

Toini Gustafsson of Sweden starred in women’s cross-country skiing, winning both individual races and earning a silver medal in the relay. Lyudmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov, an elegant married couple from the USSR, successfully defended their pairs figure skating title. Eugenio Monti of Italy piloted his two-man and four-man bobsleighs to gold medals.

100M Barrier Broken

Vladimir Belousov (USSR) and Jiri Raska (TCH) were first and second in the large hill ski jump, setting the bar at 100 metres for the first time in the history of the Games. Despite very changeable conditions (a 20° difference), Czech Jiri Raska also won the normal hill ski jump event.

NOCs: 37

Athletes: 1,158 (211 women, 947 men)

Events: 35

Volunteers: N/A

Media: N/A

A Non-official Mascot

Appearance of a non-official mascot called "Schuss". He was portrayed as a little cartoon-like character on skis.

The Colour Television

The Grenoble Games were the first Winter Olympic Games to be broadcast in colour.

New Medals

The pictogramme of the relevant sport appeared on the Olympic medals.

The Results of the Penultimate Round Prevail

Owing to an increase in temperature and the track being exposed to too much sun, the luge events were delayed and could not be continued to the end, despite the fact that they were spread out over 12 days. A similar misfortune also befell the bobsleigh events, although they took place on another track. Each time the final ranking was established after the third round, as the fourth had to be cancelled.

Skaters are Early Risers

In figure skating, owing to the high number of competitors, the events (compulsory figures) began very early in the morning at 6 a.m., 6:30 a.m. or 7 a.m., depending on the category.

Skates Move Better on Demineralised Water

In 1967, the engineers responsible for the speed skating track discovered that using frozen demineralised water produced a faster track than tap water. Thus, many world and Olympic records were beaten at these Games, despite the weather conditions not being too favourable.