It’s a wonderful anachronism. For the first time, Olympia not just going downhill. Since that day, even the fastest person on the way to the top will be rewarded with gold. And the most skilled.
First, the athletes have to run up the mountain on skis. Skins are glued under the narrow skis, which enable them to climb. Once at the top, they have to be torn off the ski again so that it can run downhill. This move can decide the short races.
The Swiss Marianne Fatton looks elegant. Like a rope jumper, she takes off her skins in one fluid movement, takes them with a little hop over the back ends of her skis, then over her head, puts them in a bag in front of her chest and sets off. Emily Harrop France gets stuck on her skis with her skins, has to take a quick look and loses crucial seconds. She would later say that the fatigue in the fourth race of the day also made the changes more difficult. Fatton goes to gold, the first Olympic medal in the sport, with Harrop coming second.
