HISTORY OF ALPINE SKIING
Although skiing as a mode of winter transport dates back thousands of years, with Norway a believed source, it did, in more recent times, develop into a cross-country sport and then extended into a downhill event. The first alpine skiing competition, a primitive downhill, was held in Oslo in the 1850s. Only decades later it had spread as a sport to the rest of Europe and the USA, where miners are reputed to have held skiing competitions for winter entertainment.
Modern alpine racing was invented by Englishman Sir Arnold Lunn and Austrian Hannes Schneider. Lunn, the son of a London travel agent, spent his years travelling through the Alps and envisioning racing through the majestic range. Lunn organised the first slalom in 1922 in Muerren, Switzerland, and joined forces with Schneider two years later to organise the race that would become the first Olympic alpine event. The Arlberg-Kandahar, a combined slalom and downhill event, is now referred to as the first legitimate alpine event — the race that planted the seed for alpine’s inclusion in the Olympic program.
The first World Championships for men’s downhill and slalom events was held in 1931.
Women’s events were added in 1950. In 1966, Serge Lang, with the help of French ski coach Honore Bonnet and U.S. ski coach Bob Beattie, founded the FIS World Cup. The first competitive season was 1966-1967.
Alpine skiing became part of the Olympic program at the 1936 Garmisch- Partenkirchen Games with a men’s and women’s combined event. |
