
Phil Mahre of the United States wins a gold medal in the slalom. |
For the first time, an Olympic Games came to the
Balkans. Although the Soviet Union would finish
the Sarajevo Games with the most medals, 25, it
was the East Germans who would strike gold the
most, with individuals and teams finishing first in ski
jumping, women's figure skating, women's
speedskating, women's luge, and the two-man and
four-man bobsled for a total of nine gold medals. Highlights
Scott Hamilton of the United States was the odds-on
favorite to win the men's figure skating title
which he did. Katarina Witt of East Germany became
a household name in women's figure skating
after her gold medal performance at the
1984 Winter Games. Four years later at the
Calgary Games, she successfully defended
her title in a much anticipated match-up with
American hopeful Debi Thomas.
Figure skaters Jayne Torville and
Christopher Dean (Britain) redefined the
ice dancing event with their sparkling gold
medal performance to the music of Ravel's
"Bolero." They were given the maximum
score for artistic impression by all nine of the
event's judges.
Finally out of the shadow of the great
Ingemar Stenmark, brothers Phil and
Steve Mahre of the United States skied to a one-two,
gold and silver medal victory in the men's
Alpine slalom. Fellow American Bill Johnson
captured the gold in the men's downhill,
giving the United States one of its best
showings in Olympic Alpine skiing.
Christa Rothenburger (East Germany)
set an Olympic record in her gold medal
performance in the women's 500m
speedskating competition. Second place
finisher Karin Enke, also from East
Germany, captured the gold in both the
1,000m and 1,500m race. Andrea Schone
completed the East German sweep of the
women's speedskating events with a gold
medal in the 3,000m.
| Attendance | Male Athletes | Female Athletes | Most-Medaled | U.S. Rank | | 49 nations | 1,002 | 276 | USSR (25) | Fifth |
Source: Knight-Ridder/Tribune
© Copyright 1998 The Washington Post Company
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