Speed skiing

Speed skiing

Speed skiing is the sport of skiing downhill in a straight line as quickly as possible. It is one of the fastest non-motorized sports on land. The current world record for skiing is 251.4 km/h , held by Simone Origone...

was a demonstration sport

Demonstration sport

A demonstration sport is a sport which is played to promote itself, most commonly during the Olympic Games, but also at other sporting events.Demonstration sports were officially introduced in 1912 Summer Olympics, when Sweden decided to include glima, traditional Icelandic wrestling, in the...

 at the 1992 Winter Olympics

1992 Winter Olympics

The 1992 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVI Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 8 to 23 February 1992 in Albertville, France. They were the last Winter Olympics to be held the same year as the Summer Olympics, and the first where the Winter Paralympics...

. The venue was in Les Arcs

Les Arcs

Les Arcs is a ski resort located in Savoie, France, in the Tarentaise Valley town of Bourg-Saint-Maurice. Initially created by Robert Blanc and Roger Godino...

, about 60 km from the host city Albertville

Albertville

Albertville is a commune in the Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.The town is best known for hosting the 1992 Winter Olympics.-Geography:...

. Michael Prufer, a 31 year old medical doctor from Savoie, improved his own 1988 world record by 5.558 km/h. Philippe Goitschel

Philippe Goitschel

Philippe Goitschel is a French skier. He won a silver medal in speed skiing, a demonstration sport at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France....

, the nephew of French ski champion Marielle Goitschel

Marielle Goitschel

Marielle Goitschel is a former French alpine skier. Marielle is the younger sister of Christine Goitschel, another champion skier of the time, and the aunt of current speed skier Philippe Goitschel....

 was second and the American Jeffrey Hamilton was third. The competition was however marred by the death of Nicolas Bochatay

Nicolas Bochatay

Nicolas Bochatay was a Swiss speed skier who died during the 1992 Winter Olympics. Bochatay was killed when he collided with a snow grooming vehicle on the morning of the speed skiing finals. He was the nephew of Olympic skier Fernande Bochatay.-Personal life:Bochatay, a carpenter, was...

 from Switzerland who died while free skiing the morning of the finals.

Tarja Mulari from Finland broke the women's world record of 219.245 km/h (previously 214.723 km/h).

Men's event

Place	Athlete	Speed
1		229.299
2		228.717
3		226.700
4		225.000
5		223.464
6		223.325
7		222.910
8		222.222
9		222.085
10		221.811

Women's event

Place	Athlete	Speed
1		219.245
2		212.892
3		210.526
4		209.790
5		203.620
6		195.865
7		195.972
8		199.115
9		193.966
10		193.548