Venues of the 1968 Winter Olympics
Encyclopedia
For the 1968 Winter Olympics
in Grenoble
, France
, a total of ten sports venues were used. Most venues were constructed between the 1964 Winter Games in Innsbruck and the 1968 Games. Thawing was an issue for the four-man bobsleigh run. They were limited to only two runs. Thawing also affected the men's 500 m speed skating event. Electronic timing in alpine skiing affected the results of the women's giant slalom event. It gave Canada's Nancy Greene a headache for two days despite her gold medal in the event.
, the day before the start of the 1964 Winter Olympics
. La Patinoire Municipale was constructed in 1963 for the Brûleurs de Loups
hockey team. It hosted the European Figure Skating Championships
the following year
.
In 1965, an aggressive construction scheduled was established using Program Evaluation and Review Technique
that was used for both venue construction and all of the support systems, including transportation, communications, and public works to ensure all venues were completed in a timely manner. Le Stade de Glace was the last venue completed, having been done so in November 1967.
Alpe d'Huez hosted the Bobsleigh World Championships
in 1967
though the four-man event was cancelled to warm temperatures causing the ice to melt. This was fixed by adding more refrigeration to the exposed area of the track to reduce melting.
Terry McDermott drew the last of the 24 pairs on ice that had badly melted despite artificial refrigeration. McDermott tied for silver with Norwegian
Magne Thomassen
in the event. Thawing also limited the bobsleigh four-man event to two runs.
Bad weather limited the men's single luge event to three runs instead of four. It also affected the women's single luge event, but the three East German
s were disqualified for heating their luge runners illegally. Another event affected by bad weather was the alpine skiing men's slalom event where Austria
n Karl Schranz
was disqualified for missing two gates during his initial run in fog before he stopped at the 21st gate and demanded a rerun.
Electronic
timekeeping
had debuted in alpine skiing at the previous Winter Olympics
. Omega
and Longines
were the official timekeepers of the 1968 Games. The reliability of the timing had athletes on their toes when they completed their performances. The most notable incident of the 1968 Winter Olympics which involved electronic timing took place with the women's alpine skiing giant slalom event. Canada
's Nancy Greene
had skied a perfect race, but when she turned around to look at the stop clock
, the numbers were still moving. It took two or three seconds to correct the stop clock malfunction. Greene thought originally that the officials missed her time, causing her blood pressure to rise to the point that she had a headache for two days. Her margin of victory was 3.24 seconds over France
's Annie Famose
.
Le Stade Glace continues to host sporting events and musical concerts as of 2010. Alpe d'Huez's bobsleigh track is no longer in use, having last run in 1972. Since 1976, the city is a popular mountain stage in the Tour de France
. Villard-de-Lans's luge track is no longer in use, but the city continues to remain a tourist attraction.
1968 Winter Olympics
The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1968 in Grenoble, France and opened on 6 February. Thirty-seven countries participated...
in Grenoble
Grenoble
Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, a total of ten sports venues were used. Most venues were constructed between the 1964 Winter Games in Innsbruck and the 1968 Games. Thawing was an issue for the four-man bobsleigh run. They were limited to only two runs. Thawing also affected the men's 500 m speed skating event. Electronic timing in alpine skiing affected the results of the women's giant slalom event. It gave Canada's Nancy Greene a headache for two days despite her gold medal in the event.
Venues
| Venue | Sports | Capacity | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autrans Autrans Autrans is a commune in the Isère department in south-eastern France.At the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, it hosted the biathlon, cross country skiing, nordic combined, and the ski jumping normal hill events.-Reference:... |
Biathlon Biathlon at the 1968 Winter Olympics -20 km:This was the first Olympics in which any missed target equaled a one minute penalty-4 x 7.5 km relay:-References:*... , Cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing at the 1968 Winter Olympics -15 km:February 10, 1968-30 km:February 6, 1968Nones was the first winner not from Finland, Norway, Sweden, or the Soviet Union to win an Olympic cross-country skiing gold medal.-50 km:February 15, 1968-4 x 10 km relay:February 14, 1968-5 km:... , Nordic combined Nordic combined at the 1968 Winter Olympics -Men's event:-References:*... , Ski jumping Ski jumping at the 1968 Winter Olympics -Large hill:February 18, 1968-Normal hill:February 11, 1968-References:*... (normal hill) |
40,000 (ski jump) | |
| Chamrousse Chamrousse Chamrousse is a commune in the Isère department in south-eastern France.The majestic mountain scenery towering above Grenoble is, for the most part, formed by the Belledonne range... |
Alpine skiing Alpine skiing at the 1968 Winter Olympics Alpine skiing at the 1968 Winter Olympics consisted of six events, held near Grenoble, France. The six events were held at Chamrousse from February 9–17, 1968.Jean-Claude Killy won all three men's events, repeating Toni Sailer's triple-gold of 1956... (men) |
Not listed. | |
| La Patinoire Municipale La Patinoire Municipale La Patinoire Municipale is an indoor ice venue located in Grenoble, France. Completed in 1963, it hosted some of the ice hockey competitions for the 1968 Winter Olympics. During those games, it seated 2700.... |
Ice hockey Ice hockey at the 1968 Winter Olympics At the 1968 Winter Olympics held in Grenoble, France, one ice hockey event was held: men's ice hockey. This tournament also counted as IIHF World Championship and IIHF European Championship... |
2,700 | |
| L'Anneau de Vitesse L'Anneau de Vitesse L'Anneau de Vitesse is an outdoor speed skating venue located in Grenoble, France. It hosted the speed skating events for the 1968 Winter Olympics. This Speed Circuit is located in a park of 27 hectares, the Park Paul Mistral... |
Speed skating Speed skating at the 1968 Winter Olympics -500 m:-1,500 m:-5,000 m:-10,000 m:-500 m:-1,000 m:-1,500 m:-3,000 m:-References:*... |
2,500 | |
| Le Stade de Glace Palais des Sports (Grenoble) Palais des Sports, known also as the Palais des sports Pierre Mendes is an indoor ice hockey arena, in Grenoble, France. It was built in 1967 and holds 12,000 people.... |
Closing ceremonies, Figure skating Figure skating at the 1968 Winter Olympics The figure skating 1968 Winter Olympics results in Grenoble, France. Ice Dance was a demonstration event and was won by the team of Diane Towler and Bernard Ford of Great Britain.-Medal table:-Men:Referee:* Josef DědičAssistant Referee:... , Ice hockey |
12,000 | |
| Piste de Bobsleigh Alpe d'Huez L'Alpe d'Huez is a ski resort at . It is a mountain pasture in the Central French Alps, in the commune of Huez, in the Isère département in the Rhône-Alpes region.-Tour de France:L'Alpe d'Huez is one of the main mountains in the Tour de France... |
Bobsleigh Bobsleigh at the 1968 Winter Olympics -Two-man:There was a tie for first place. Despite initially ruling that both teams would be awarded the gold medals, the judges awarded the sole gold to the Italian team based on their fastest single heat time... |
Not listed. | |
| Piste de Luge Villard-de-Lans Villard-de-Lans is a commune in the Isère department in south-eastern France.The town is a centre for skiing in winter and hiking and hot air ballooning in other seasons.-1968 Winter Olympics:... |
Luge Luge at the 1968 Winter Olympics -Men's singles:-Doubles:With his win in the doubles, Thomas Köhler becomes the first person to win in both men's singles and doubles.-Women's singles:... |
Not listed. | |
| Recoin de Chamrousse Chamrousse Chamrousse is a commune in the Isère department in south-eastern France.The majestic mountain scenery towering above Grenoble is, for the most part, formed by the Belledonne range... |
Alpine skiing (women) | Not listed. | |
| Saint-Nizier-du-Moucherotte Saint-Nizier-du-Moucherotte Saint-Nizier-du-Moucherotte is a commune in the Isère department in south-eastern France.-1968 Winter Olympics:The commune hosted the ski jumping individual large hill event for the 1968 Winter Olympics held in neighboring Grenoble. Its hill had a calculation or K-point of 90 meters and was... |
Ski jumping (large hill) | 50,000 | |
| Olympic Stadium (Grenoble) Olympic Stadium (Grenoble) Olympic Stadium, also known as Opening Stadium, was a temporary stadium in Grenoble, France. Built to only host the opening ceremonies for the 1968 Winter Olympics, the stadium was immediately disassembled following the games. The stadium held 60,000 spectators.-Reference:* pp. 86-7. &... |
Opening ceremonies | 60,000 | |
Before the Olympics
In 1960, a local paper informed the public in Grenoble that it was making a bid for the 1968 Winter Olympics. They were awarded those games on 28 January 1964 in InnsbruckInnsbruck
- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...
, the day before the start of the 1964 Winter Olympics
1964 Winter Olympics
The 1964 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IX Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Innsbruck, Austria, from January 29 to February 9, 1964...
. La Patinoire Municipale was constructed in 1963 for the Brûleurs de Loups
Brûleurs de loups
The Brûleurs de loups are a professional ice hockey team that resides in Grenoble, France.-History:The name comes from an event recorded by Cardinal LeCamus in 1672 at St Christophe en Oisans, see the book from Thomas Pfeiffer, Le Brûleur de loups, Lyon, 2004, and Sur les traces des brûleurs de...
hockey team. It hosted the European Figure Skating Championships
European Figure Skating Championships
The European Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition in which figure skaters compete for the title of European Champion...
the following year
1964 European Figure Skating Championships
The 1964 European Figure Skating Championships were the European Figure Skating Championships of the 1964-1965 season. Elite senior-level figure skaters from European ISU Member Nations competed for the title of European Champion...
.
In 1965, an aggressive construction scheduled was established using Program Evaluation and Review Technique
Program Evaluation and Review Technique
The Program ' Evaluation and Review Technique, commonly abbreviated PERT, is a statistical tool, used in project management, that is designed to analyze and represent the tasks involved in completing a given project...
that was used for both venue construction and all of the support systems, including transportation, communications, and public works to ensure all venues were completed in a timely manner. Le Stade de Glace was the last venue completed, having been done so in November 1967.
Alpe d'Huez hosted the Bobsleigh World Championships
FIBT World Championships
The FIBT World Championships, part of the Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing , have taken place on an annual basis in non-Winter Olympic years since 1930. A two-man event was included in 1931 with a combined championship occurring in 1947...
in 1967
FIBT World Championships 1967
The FIBT World Championships 1967 took place in Alpe d'Huez, France for the second time, having hosted the event previously in 1951. The Four-man bobsleigh event was cancelled for the second consecutive year though the cause this time was due to high temperatures that caused the ice on the track to...
though the four-man event was cancelled to warm temperatures causing the ice to melt. This was fixed by adding more refrigeration to the exposed area of the track to reduce melting.
During the Olympics
Thawing ice had an impact on several events at these games. In the men's 500 m speed skating event, AmericanUnited States at the 1968 Winter Olympics
The United States competed at the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France.- Medalists :- Alpine skiing:MenMen's slalomWomen- Biathlon:Men...
Terry McDermott drew the last of the 24 pairs on ice that had badly melted despite artificial refrigeration. McDermott tied for silver with Norwegian
Norway at the 1968 Winter Olympics
-Medalists:- Alpine skiing:MenMen's slalomWomen- Biathlon:Men1One minute added per close miss , two minutes added per complete miss.Men's 4 x 7.5 km relay...
Magne Thomassen
Magne Thomassen
Magne Thomassen is a former speed skater from Norway. He participated in international championships over a period of more than ten years...
in the event. Thawing also limited the bobsleigh four-man event to two runs.
Bad weather limited the men's single luge event to three runs instead of four. It also affected the women's single luge event, but the three East German
East Germany at the 1968 Winter Olympics
East Germany competed at the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France. East German athletes had competed together with West German athletes as the United Team of Germany in the previous three Winter Olympic Games, but both nations sent independent teams starting in 1968.-Medalists:- Alpine...
s were disqualified for heating their luge runners illegally. Another event affected by bad weather was the alpine skiing men's slalom event where Austria
Austria at the 1968 Winter Olympics
-Medalists:- Alpine skiing:MenMen's slalomWomen- Biathlon:Men1One minute added per close miss , two minutes added per complete miss.Men's 4 x 7.5km relay...
n Karl Schranz
Karl Schranz
Karl Schranz is a former champion alpine ski racer, one of the best in the 1960s.During his lengthy career , Schranz won twenty major downhills, many major giant slalom races and several major slaloms...
was disqualified for missing two gates during his initial run in fog before he stopped at the 21st gate and demanded a rerun.
Electronic
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
timekeeping
Timekeeper
A timekeeper is an instrument or person that measures the passage of time; in the case of the latter, often with the assistance of a clock or stopwatch...
had debuted in alpine skiing at the previous Winter Olympics
1964 Winter Olympics
The 1964 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IX Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Innsbruck, Austria, from January 29 to February 9, 1964...
. Omega
Omega
Omega is the 24th and last letter of the Greek alphabet. In the Greek numeric system, it has a value of 800. The word literally means "great O" , as opposed to omicron, which means "little O"...
and Longines
Longines
Longines is a Swiss luxury watchmaker based in Saint-Imier, Switzerland. The company was originally founded by Auguste Agassiz in 1832 and it currently holds the oldest registered logo for a watch company . Longines is currently owned by the Swatch Group.Longines is known for its 'Aviators' watches...
were the official timekeepers of the 1968 Games. The reliability of the timing had athletes on their toes when they completed their performances. The most notable incident of the 1968 Winter Olympics which involved electronic timing took place with the women's alpine skiing giant slalom event. Canada
Canada at the 1968 Winter Olympics
Canada competed at the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France. Canada has competed at every Winter Olympic Games. This was the first Winter Olympic Games in which the new Maple Leaf Flag was used to represent the country.-Medalists:- Alpine skiing:...
's Nancy Greene
Nancy Greene
Nancy Catherine Greene, OC, OBC, OD is a Canadian Senator for British Columbia and a champion alpine skier voted as Canada's Female Athlete of the 20th Century...
had skied a perfect race, but when she turned around to look at the stop clock
Stopwatch
A stopwatch is a handheld timepiece designed to measure the amount of time elapsed from a particular time when activated to when the piece is deactivated. A large digital version of a stopwatch designed for viewing at a distance, as in a sports stadium, is called a stopclock.The timing functions...
, the numbers were still moving. It took two or three seconds to correct the stop clock malfunction. Greene thought originally that the officials missed her time, causing her blood pressure to rise to the point that she had a headache for two days. Her margin of victory was 3.24 seconds over France
France at the 1968 Winter Olympics
France was the host nation for the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble. It was the second time that France had hosted the Winter Olympic Games , and the fourth time overall .-Medalists:- Alpine skiing:MenMen's slalomWomen- Biathlon:Men1One minute added per close miss France was the host nation for...
's Annie Famose
Annie Famose
Annie Famose is a French former Alpine skier. She was a member of the dominating French alpine skiing national team in the 1960s...
.
After the Olympics
Autrans remains a popular skiing venue, having started in 1896 and continuing to do so as of 2010. Chamrousse is a popular skiing venue. La Patinorie Municipale was renamed Halle Clemencau in 2001, the last year the Grenoble Hockey Club played before moving into a new sports arena.Le Stade Glace continues to host sporting events and musical concerts as of 2010. Alpe d'Huez's bobsleigh track is no longer in use, having last run in 1972. Since 1976, the city is a popular mountain stage in the Tour de France
Tour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
. Villard-de-Lans's luge track is no longer in use, but the city continues to remain a tourist attraction.