Olympic Winter Games at Innsbruck (1964) - full transcript
ARGENTINA
GREAT BRITAIN
AUSTRIA
POLAND
In the name of all the competitors
I promise
that we shall take part
in these Olympic Games
respecting and abiding
by the rules that govern them
in the true spirit of sportsmanship,
for the glory of sport
and the honour of our teams.
Thrilling drama, colour and speed.
That is ice hockey.
The Soviet Union
versus Czechoslovakia.
Goal for the Soviet Union.
After 16 minutes, the Soviet Union
surprisingly leads with a score of 4:0.
The game has been decided.
The spectacular final score is 7:5.
A game full of passion and enthusiasm.
Sweden versus the USA,
the winner of Squaw Valley.
This match meets the crowd's taste.
Sweden wins 7:4.
The Olympic Games are not simply
grand scenes of sturdy men.
Women also fight for fame with
the persistence and elegance of their sex.
3x5 kilometre relay.
Eight women battle for the top position.
At the fore, the Finn Senja Pusula.
She doesn't hold the lead long
and the hopes of a victory for
Finland's cross-country skier is over.
First to pass the baton are
the Soviet skiers Kolchina and Mekshilo.
They're followed by the Swedes
Martinsson and Strandberg.
Senja Pusula comes in fourth behind
Christine Nestler from the German team.
The last exchange.
Klavdiya Boyarskikh,
the Soviet team's closing skier,
glides along towards the finish followed
by the teams from Sweden and Finland.
The Soviet women's cross-country
skiing team were simply unbeatable.
The most successful athlete was
the Siberian teacher Klavdiya Boyarskikh.
She won every women's gold medal
there was to win in Seefeld.
Klavdiya Boyarskikh at the finish.
Smiling, the Swede Toini Gustafsson
finishes the race. Silver for Sweden.
Then comes Finland's closing skier
Mirja Lehtonen. She claims the bronze.
The joy of the Soviet skiers
is enormous.
For the first time,
they've won in this Olympic discipline.
Before the enormous
Olympic Ice Stadium,
the speed skaters
executed their dramatic runs.
The high-performance devices of
modern timekeeping methods are checked.
Starting pistol for the 500 m race.
The Soviet world record holder Grishin.
His style represents the elegance
and dynamic of speed skating.
In slow motion,
the commanding rhythm and precision
of the gliding movements are revealed.
At 40. 6 seconds, Yevgeny Grishin
and his compatriot Vladimir Orlov,
together with Norwegian Alv Gjestvang,
reach second place.
Gold! With a dramatic run,
it's the young Terry McDermott,
the speedy Figaro from the USA.
A new Olympic record by...
His record time
adds up to 40. 1 seconds.
Behind him, the world's top athletes
who finished at 40. 6 seconds.
Suspense and drama
in the 5, 000 meters event.
On the course
ahead of Malkin of England
is the Norwegian national hero
Kupper'n Johannesen.
The 30-year-old athlete
won the gold in Squaw Valley
for the 10,000 meters event.
He's racing against two opponents.
First, against time
and also against his compatriot
Per Ivar Moe,
who's already sitting on the sidelines
after finishing with a time
of seven minutes, 38. 6 seconds.
At the start of the final lap,
Johannesen still trails Moe,
but the athlete is accustomed to winning
and finishes ahead of Moe in the end.
Gold for Johannesen.
Gold for Mrs. Johannesen.
Below us lies the mountain country.
We are in Tyrol.
We are in Tyrol.
Travellers are well acquainted
with these magnificent views
which again and again show
how contrasts exist side by side.
Above all, it may be the character
of the mountain farming communities
and the proximity of nature
that produces such a profound impression.
Seeing this life of mountain solitude,
it's not hard to imagine the miracle
of the heavens touching the earth.
In this majestic landscape,
the link between man and alpine sports
seems to have come about on its own.
This also explains why Innsbruck,
city in the mountains,
is more than most any other city
well suited to the Olympic ideal.
Innsbruck, with an eager heart
and a sense of sportsmanship,
has taken great pains to give the world
a welcoming meeting place.
"Upon this city, rests God's
affectionate hand, "as the poet said.
In the old town, one feels that
nature and art stand side by side,
that the old and the new
go hand in hand.
Of course, Innsbruck
may just be one among many cities.
But the mountains peek
through the windows of every house
beckoning the residents to come out
and explore them in every season.
Here on top of our mountains
On our mountains
where it is so beautiful
As with most forms of sports,
what started as work
and utilitarian transport,
was then converted by imaginative people
into games and recreation
then finally into serious sport.
For the first time, luge debuts
in Olympic competition at Innsbruck.
Bold and fast,
they shoot through the ice curves.
It takes courage, strength
and body control
and a good feel
for the ideal lines on an ice track
to become an Olympic champion.
The German and Austrian lugers
overshadowed all of their rivals.
The Germans Klaus Bonsack
and Thomas K?hler
completely dominate
the men's individual runs.
Bronze for Helene Thurner of Austria.
Gold for Enderlein from Germany.
Preparation
for the two-man bobsleigh event.
The approach has come to play
an important athletic role
which can be decisive.
The new Olympic track at Innsbruck
is the fastest in the world.
Following the ideal line
is the secret of the bobsled pilot.
Even a small steering error
can add hundredths of a second.
The winners in two-man bobsleigh,
Britons Anthony Nash and Robin Dixon,
dethrone the two successful Italian
world champions Zardini and Monti.
The witches' cauldron,
the most impressive curve
on the Olympic bobsleigh track.
The pilot must stand the test
of this steep face.
Here is the ideal line.
Whoever fails to follow this line
risks missing the entry
to the straightaway.
Ready to go.
The Italian four-man bobsled
with the renowned
Eugenio Monti as pilot.
The sleigh in the witches' cauldron.
A change of the guard is about
to take place in the bobsleigh.
Bronze for Monti.
The Austrian team with Erwin Thaler
reaches for the gold.
But in the end they take the silver.
The Canadians start with aircraft dealer
Victor Emery as pilot.
A worn-out Italian bobsled.
Too old for most teams,
but it carries Emery
and his team-mates to success.
Bobsleigh is not just a sport.
It is a passion that pursues its devotees
even into their dreams.
The bobsledder knows that in every race
he's survived a dangerous adventure.
An autograph from Erwin Thaler
is worth a lot.
And Olympic splendour even touches those
who lift the victors onto their shoulders.
Right before the Winter Games began,
Innsbruck was without snow.
Nature seemed to have other plans.
With a mixture
of compressed air and water,
snow cannons spray onto the slopes
the snow the heavens denied us.
Snow blowers for clearing
deep snow from the roads
were used to pulverize snow masses
that were brought from the distant
side valley Gschnitztal to the ski runs.
In baskets, soldiers
of the Austrian Armed Forces
transported winter to the slopes
of the village Axamer Lizum.
Just so, with innumerable efforts,
the slopes for the alpine events
came into shape.
In specifically constructed trenches,
the snow from higher areas
was poured downhill.
A picture reminiscent of the transport of
felled trees down from the mountains.
In certain spots, water hoses were used
to bind the snow to the hillsides.
Anyone with feet to stamp with
was urged to walk the slopes.
Even Professor Wolfgang took up his feet
to figuratively and exemplarily
put finishing touches on the slopes.
As the Eskimos have shown us
ice and snow can be used
as construction material.
The frozen waterways supply
the bricks and slush the mortar.
This practice is known as Aperschnalzen.
It is still the middle of winter.
In 1964, the weather gods led
man and animal alike by the nose.
These Innsbruck youths attempt
to drive away the winter by whip cracking.
At Patscherkofel is the venue
for the men's alpine skiing competition.
Who would expect to find a ski run
in this kind of weather?
The mood is rather
that of a spring festival.
Even dear old Grandma takes part.
Inside the electronic data centre,
modern calculating devices bring a quicker
and more precise determination of results.
Preparations before the start
of the race on the Aperen Alm.
Our athletes resemble
swimmers without water,
horseback riders without horses.
Everything for beauty.
And the beauty contest
is another competition event.
Cannons for the hot shot athletes.
But with the proper perspective
an old camera will do just as well.
First up is the American Bill Kidd.
The Frenchman L?o Lacroix.
The great adventure
on the 3, 120-meter-long course begins.
L?o Lacroix risks it all to win it all.
This is how the athlete
races downhill towards the valley.
A wide and solid white band
through the steep high forest.
The slope on the Patscherkofel.
The champion's run,
the Austrian Egon Zimmermann.
Wolfgang Bartels of Germany
wins bronze.
Finding the right line
is also the art of the alpine ski racer.
Choosing the wrong line
will cost you hundredths of a second
and the chance at victory.
Seventy seven skiers took on
the mountain and themselves.
Downhill skiing is more
than just a sports competition.
It is overcoming one's fears.
All of the start and finish times,
scores and jumping distances
will be sent from the competition venues
directly to the electronic data centre
via a new remote
data transmission system.
The results will be calculated
to within fractions of seconds.
A few moments after the athlete
has crossed the finish line
his finishing time and ranking
are already visible on the scoreboard.
Millions of accumulated pieces
of information are turned into results.
These documents are sent
via the remote data transmission system
from the competition venues
simultaneously,
then duplicated and handed
to journalists and officials.
The president of Austria, Mr. Sch?rf
and the mayor of Innsbruck, Mr. Lugger
congratulate the winner,
Egon Zimmermann.
France's sports minister Maurice Herzog
is pleased with L?o Lacroix's performance.
The Ismailis are satisfied
with Prince Aga Khan's performance,
and Toni Sailer
with all of his successors.
The game of defying gravity
plays a role in many different sports
Differently at the Patscherkofel
than during pair figure skating
in the Olympic Ice Stadium.
The ideal figure skating pair
is made up of two personalities
who succeed at combining
their skills in total harmony.
The Canadians Wilkes
and Revell win third place.
The German world champions
Marika Kilius and J?rgen B?umler.
Their position as favourites
weighs heavily on their shoulders.
Their freestyle section is flawless.
But it is only enough
for the silver medal.
5. 8, 5. 8, 5. 8, 5.4,
5. 8, 5. 8, 5. 7.
Thank you.
The last pair before the break:
Lyudmila Belousova and
Oleg Protopopov from the USSR.
And now for the final.
On the ice, the Soviet champions
Lyudmila and Oleg Protopopov.
An effortless elegance of performance,
complete harmony of movement,
sweeping beauty
even during difficult presentations:
that is the magic of pair figure skating.
Gold for the Protopopovs,
silver for Kilius/B?umler
and bronze for Wilkes/Revell.
It's all about gold, silver or bronze
in Axamer Lizum as well
during the women's slalom race.
Who will be successful?
The doctor already knows.
The slalom monitoring film crew
is getting in position.
The slalom requires
a lot of preparation.
Meditation before the race.
Christl waxes the top of her skis.
Edith chooses the bottom side.
The Frenchwoman
Marielle Goitschel at the start line.
Boldly, the young woman
from the Val d'Is?re
scores the best time on her first run.
Slalom is a dance on an inclined plane.
Only athletes who find the right rhythm
will be successful.
The German Heidi Biebl was not able
to find her rhythm during this race.
She only reached fourth place
in the overall ranking.
Atop of the towers, the camera crews
of the slalom monitoring film are busy.
Each official slalom has to be
filmed for monitoring purposes.
The exposed film
is taken to the lab by a messenger.
OFFICIAL SLALOM FILM LAB
His run isn't measured
in hundredths of seconds,
but it makes him thirsty nonetheless.
Expert eyes follow Christine's run
who will take the gold medal from
her sister Marielle in the second run.
Technology in the service of sports.
Mere minutes after the athlete
crosses the finish line
the film is developed
in high-performance machines
within a very short span of time.
Another Olympic record.
The American Jean Saubert
is hoping for a bronze medal.
Every run is checked
at the editing table
and hung on an illuminated screen
for visual inspection.
The international jury assesses
of the official monitoring film.
The fall of Austrian skier Traudl Hecher
is shown and studied.
In this way each and every error
and their causes become visible.
The big sought-after moment.
Christine Goitschel takes
her rightful place on the winner's podium.
Her sister, Marielle, is celebrating her.
Even Jean Saubert gets a jubilant kiss.
Christine doesn't seem to be
quite as steady on level ground.
In the Olympic Ice Hall
not only the ice hockey teams
but also the figure skating judges ignite
the passionate interest of the audience.
On the ice, the Austrian Emmerich Danzer.
His freestyle section was the third-best.
He clearly outperformed
Karol Div?n of Czechoslovakia,
but could not surpass him.
Div?n's margin for his compulsory section
was too large.
The young American
Scott Allen, however,
pushes Div?n out of the running
and takes third place.
The battle for an Olympic victory
leads through purgatory
for the three-time European champion,
Alain Calmat.
This is not just a fall.
It's a plummet from the heights
of his victory hopes.
The audience witnesses
the tragic fall of a great athlete.
Calmat, the great artist on ice,
fails in the end.
His soaring flight ends in failure.
Immaculate and dreamily beautiful is
this jump of Veikko Kankkonen of Finland.
The quick hand on the snow
in the run-out deprived him of victory.
Calmat fell, but the jury granted him
the silver medal in the end.
5. 7, 5.4, 5. 7, 5. 3,
5. 7, 5. 6, 5. 6, 5. 8.
With an outstanding performance
that outshines all former mishaps
the German skater Manfred Schnelldorfer
becomes the next Olympic champion.
High and secure,
that's how Schnelldorfer,
student of architecture, builds his jumps.
A well deserved and commanding victory
for Manfred Schnelldorfer.
At the Olympic village recreation centre,
athletes from every nation relax together.
The twist remains the twist.
There isn't any twist.
This foosball table reignites
their passion for competition.
They all get along,
though they may not get
what the other is saying.
Their language is the language
of sports, friendship and youth.
And games belong there as well,
as does the heart.
But there are also peaceful oases
within the recreation centre.
Japanese athletes will find their
local newspapers in the reading room,
just like the Norwegians, Americans
and Lebanese will find theirs.
Below us,
not in bright sunshine for a change,
lies the downhill slope
of the ski Amazons.
625 meters of elevation change
separate the finish from the start.
20,000 spectators,
despite the bitter cold,
surround the white stadium.
Race start for the Austrian athlete
Traudl Hecher.
Despite a painful ankle injury
she has a fantastic run.
The last decisive change of direction
before the finish line.
Traudl Hecher doesn't give away
one tenth of a second.
The Tyrolean has made it.
She's won third place.
On the slope is the fragile
German athlete Barbi Henneberger.
Her heat was less successful.
In spite of a flawless performance,
she only reaches fifth place.
Grace and guts are shown by
the Austrian Edith Zimmermann,
who with elegant ski control
commands the slope,
whose gentle curves and turns
evoke a feminine nature.
Especially eager for the descent,
Christl Haas, the girl from Kitzb?hel.
She knows that today is her big day.
A cheerful mood, a fighting spirit,
well waxed skis
and a slope made for her.
Christl Haas on the long home stretch
that again calls for total
concentration and sturdiness.
The victory is hers to keep.
Three winners from one country.
Three different temperaments,
three medals for Austria.
A kiss from her mother
is the biggest reward for Christl Haas.
The big race is over
for the 10,000 people in Axamer Lizum
and for the men
of the mountain rescue team
who did not have to step in
during the race.
These men would have deserved
many of a medal.
For Traudl Hecher, after the race
there was not only the bronze medal,
but also a brand-new cast
and friendly consolation.
It doesn't always have to be the gold
During our big games
There can only be one person
To cross the finish line first
It is so great to fight
with fairness and skills
But for the win you also need
a little bit of luck
Once again, 50,000 people
are on the move.
Again, a caravan of yellow elephants
wend their way to Axamer Lizum.
Men's giant slalom.
The big slalom slope on the Birgitsk?pfl
is extremely steep.
Seventy-five slalom gates
spread across 1, 500 meters
gives the giant slalom a very fast pace
and delivers the fascinating
experience of high speeds.
The Austrian Pepi Stiegler
applies his brilliant technique
rationally and intelligently.
Pepi Stiegler is only bested
by two other athletes.
One of them is the Frenchman
Fran?ois Bonlieu,
the mountain guide from Chamonix.
Another calm and extraordinary athlete.
Bonlieu runs the race of his life,
becoming Olympic champion.
The big shock of the race
was provided by men's downhill
gold medal winner, Egon Zimmermann.
A disastrous fall
turns hope into disappointment.
A fall that shocked everybody.
Almost everybody.
He can finally relax.
The Olympic Games are over for him.
A very dynamic run is what
Austrian Karl Schranz delivers.
As the last athlete of the first round,
he's left with less than perfect
conditions on the slope.
However, due to his skills,
he takes second place.
Some athletes did have difficulties
standing on their feet on the mountain.
This does go down smoothly.
There are no medals awarded
for these dangerous downhill runs.
Karl Schranz, the silver medal winner
of the giant slalom and Fran?ois Bonlieu.
Both celebrate their medals.
In front of the Olympic Ice Stadium,
the sun shines for the female skaters.
False start.
Before excited spectators, the female
speed skaters display power and grace.
But also their subjugation
to a single competitor
who completely dominates at Innsbruck.
The Russian speed skater
Lidiya Skoblikova,
a teacher from Sverdlovsk.
On the shining track, Lidiya Skoblikova
and German Helga Haase
race in the 1500 meters event.
Two housewives
found their love for speed skating.
Lidiya Skoblikova,
in the left lane, is ahead,
but at this point in the race
nothing has been decided yet.
During the next lane change
Helga Haase takes the lead.
But throughout
the dreaded 1500 meters event,
which is too long for one long sprint
and not long enough for rest breaks,
Lidiya Skoblikova
dominates in every aspect.
She makes her way across the ice
with smooth but powerful movements.
With her elegance
she refutes the old criticism
that speed skating is no sport for women.
Lidiya Skoblikova won all four
gold medals awarded in Innsbruck.
She's the most successful participant
of the ninth Olympic Winter Games.
All attempts to dethrone Lidiya Skoblikova
were unsuccessful.
But in the final laps of the 1500 meters,
you can openly see the strain,
the stress these young women
take upon themselves.
As Valentina Stenina of the Soviet Union
crosses the finish...
then the American Jan Smith
tumbles across the finish line.
She has no strength left.
Her body seems to be an empty shell.
In the end the limitations for women
in speed skating become quite apparent.
A trip by helicopter to Seefeld.
The village band
is mustered for the reception.
In Tyrol they certainly know how to give
their guests a hearty welcome.
There's no shortage of guests to see
the ski-jumping event on the normal hill.
The proper preparation of the sturdy
jumping skis is half the battle.
In Seefeld, the Finn Veikko Kankkonen
climbs up for the highest jump
of his athletic career.
The international skiing elite is here.
Style and temperament
are revealed in these jumps.
Former world champions
Toni Seelos and Sepp Bradl
reminisce on their own past.
The Norwegian Toralf Engan
and the Finn Veikko Kankkonen
wage a solitary battle for the gold.
The last jump of the competition
ensures the win for Kankkonen.
With the assurance of a man
who's deciphered nature's secret,
Kankkonen wins the gold medal.
Among the judges, there's no debate.
The jumper, who leaps onto the shoulders
of his friends, is Veikko Kankkonen.
Another great athlete
is the German Georg Thoma.
The athletes of the Nordic combined event
showed great jumping talent.
Concentrated and elegant,
Georg Thoma during his last jump.
The mail-man from the Black Forest
edges out his closest competitor,
Norwegian, Tormod Knutsen,
but only beats him by a few points.
Rivals in competition but friends in life,
Georg Thoma and Tormod Knutsen.
Until the next event, Nordic combined.
The ski tracks
at the train station in Seefeld.
Just as small and diminutive
as the skiers appear below us
is man before the immensity of nature.
And yet man manages hold his own
against this superior force
through his spirit and will.
The German
Roland Wei?pflog begins the course.
On the ski-track,
the Norwegian Arne Barhaugen,
one of the strongest contenders
in this discipline.
Even stronger than Italian Ezio Damolin.
The Austrian Heigenhauser
and the Swiss Alois K?lin.
Tormod Knutsen in powerful form.
An unyielding competitive spirit
drives him along the course.
Supported by people such as the former
Olympic champion Sverre Stenersen.
The big winner of this event
will be the Swiss Alois K?lin.
The last uphill in slow motion.
But K?lin missed all his chances
during the ski-jumping section
and is thus unable to recover
the grand prize with this performance.
The mail goes out.
Ski, Georg!
A friendly invitation for Georg Thoma.
And the German skis.
Though his skis don't function properly.
He overtakes the Italian Enzo Perin,
but cannot hold his advantage
from the ski-jumping section
against Tormod Knutsen.
The Norwegian at the finish.
Thoma during the final uphill
in slow motion.
He's suffering with skis
that slip too much during the climb.
But he still gives it his all,
even though he knows he's defeated.
Not only has Knutsen passed him
in the Nordic combined event
but also the Soviet athlete
Nikolay Kiselyov.
Thoma at the finish.
He has overcome himself.
He already wanted to give up
at two kilometres.
A grand achievement.
It's only a matter of moments
that decide an athlete's fate in sports.
Tormod Knutsen, the big winner,
and just a few steps away from him,
isolated in his defeat,
the big loser, Georg Thoma.
Winning makes you hungry.
Tormod Knutsen agrees
and gladly accepts the novel invitation
of former world champion Toni Seelos.
This is an authentic Tyrolean
Holzhackerschmarrn.
Knutsen is familiar with this kind of food
from his home in the mountains of Norway.
Klavdiya Boyarskikh,
more used to caviar, is not so sure.
And Vladimir Melanin,
gold medalist in the Biathlon discipline,
won't say no to this blueberry juice.
And here's the man himself, the former
world ski champion. He loves the food.
From sensory pleasures
back to the athletic attractions.
In the Olympic Ice Hall,
30 young women from three continents
show off their wonderful
artistic interplay with gravity.
The Canadian Petra Burka.
Her performance is full
of momentum and self-confidence.
She won't win in Innsbruck,
but the future is hers.
Petra Burka takes third place.
Next up, Regine Heitzer from Austria.
Because of Petra Burka,
Regine Heitzer runs the risk
of losing her second place standing
from the compulsory section.
The Viennese skater performs
an ambitious freestyle section.
Up until this small error
during the double axel.
Regine Heitzer's dance-like performance
wins her the silver medal.
Holland's ice queen Sjoukje Dijkstra.
She was already Olympic champion
at the start of her performance
for her lead from the compulsory
was too wide to be overtaken.
But also the audience
chose her to be the winner.
Her freestyle performance
was simply the best.
Athletic power and elegant movements
characterize the superior style
of the Olympic champion Sjoukje Dijkstra.
Back outside among the massive
Tyrolean mountains.
Below us the winter magic
of the village Axamer Lizum.
The race may begin.
Women's giant slalom
on the Hoadl slope.
Christine Goitschel. Go!
The race starts with an open slope.
The Frenchwoman
stands calmly on her skis.
She finds the best line
between the poles,
the best connection
between start and finish.
Christine Goitschel
secures second place,
together with the American
Jean Saubert...
nothing could break her focus.
Down to a hundredth of a second
Jean Saubert reaches the finish
with the same time as Christine Goitschel.
Different styles but the same result.
The paths to happiness
are not always the same.
With a drive to prove her superiority
and a carefree self-confidence
Marielle Goitschel starts.
Nobody is able to match her skills.
A great athlete wins
a well deserved reward:
the Olympic gold medal.
Marielle Goitschel,
with this performance,
is nearly one second faster than
Jean Saubert and her sister Christine.
Nearly a full second.
An enormous amount when it comes
down to hundredths of a second.
The same flags fly at the Axamer Lizum
and Seefeld venues.
But while alpine skiers
dominate the former,
Nordic skiers dominate the latter.
Start for the 4x10 kilometre relay.
A fascinating picture.
Fifteen skiers battle for the lead.
Even the first few meters are decisive.
In the lead, the Russian Utrobin
before the Swede Asph.
Here's the pack of followers
during the first climb.
The spectators follow the athletes' lead
and set out cross-country
to reach the best viewpoints.
The third skier of each team
gets ready for his turn.
In the lead is the Russian
Igor Voronchikhin.
The last baton pass of a dramatic race.
The Finn Eero M?ntyranta
and the Swiss Assar R?nnlund
have taken the lead.
With swift steps
the athletes chase up the hill.
In third position
is the Soviet athlete Pavel Kolchin
and behind him the Norwegian giant
Harald Gr?nningen.
These two were in the lead
just before the last exchange,
but now...
The climb is causing
Gr?nningen some trouble.
The athletes race through
an endless wall of spectators
and cross the finish line
shortly after each other.
First the Swede Assar R?nnlund.
Shortly afterwards,
Eero M?ntyranta from Finland.
And the last member of the Soviet team,
Kolchin, in third place.
A quick look over the shoulder,
not out of anger, however.
Four men, four gold medals but one team.
RACE OFFICE
The big gamble for starting numbers,
a peek behind the scenes.
This is where
important decisions are made.
Interpreting equipment facilitates
communication between nations.
All team leaders are present
and pay close attention to the randomly
selected placement of their prot?g?s.
The lots are drawn by children.
They determine tiny advantages
that could have a huge impact.
The names of the athletes
are placed on big starter panels.
An endless string of cars
is making its way into Axamer Lizum.
Some drivers would probably
rather slalom down the track
but the slope is way too narrow.
The men's slalom event is the biggest
attraction of all alpine skiing events.
60,000 spectators
are gathered around the slope.
A tense anticipation is in the air.
Athletes say that they memorize
every inch of the slope like a poem.
Every difficult pole, every difficult
combination, is committed to memory
But it is impossible
to discover every secret of the track.
The great unmasking
will only happen after the race.
The German Ludwig Leitner.
He has a chance at victory.
But only a few meters after the start
the slope reveals its true colours.
Leitner avoids falling down and takes
fifth place in the overall ranking.
The Austrian Pepi Stiegler.
With this perfect run without any errors
he wins the gold medal.
His run is the crowning achievement
of his athletic career.
At this time, one contender for victory
is still the Frenchman Bonlieu.
The camera captured the dramatic run of
the athlete from Chamonix in slow motion.
...seconds.
Number 15, Fran?ois Bonlieu of France,
has dropped out of the race.
The unerring eye of the camera
of the slalom monitoring films
shows the well balanced performance
of the world's top athletes.
But it also reveals the small errors
that can lead to the loss
of hundredths of a second.
As a carefree outsider with nothing
to lose but everything to gain,
Billy Kidd wins the silver medal.
Karl Schranz, who was hoping
for the win after his first run
and the world champion title
after the men's combination event,
met with the same fate as Fran?ois Bonlieu
during his second run.
Guy P?rillat did not have much luck
during his first run.
But he finished his second run
with the best time.
But one run is not enough
in the slalom event.
Only those who have performed well
in both runs can win.
The young American Jimmy Heuga,
starting number 24,
proves wrong those who believe
that only skiers in the first starting
group stand a chance at a medal.
His certainty is just as astonishing
as his technique.
Jimmy Huega wins the bronze medal.
Differences in style are barely noticeable
amongst the world class athletes.
The will to win is the determining factor.
Here are our three medal winners.
Only fractions of a second separated them
from all the other contenders.
As consolation,
an interview with Michel Arpin
and a sisterly kiss for Bonlieu.
Born to ski,
live to ski
and lost without skis.
That is the mantra for the ski crazy youth
living in the mountains.
The young people's enthusiasm
doesn't need any prompting.
Just give them a little age,
maturity and a certain skill set
and these girls and boys will grow
into the starlets and stars of tomorrow.
On the slope, the way is short
before you take your first fall.
And your first fall won't be your last,
even if you try to make it past.
But one consolation you can take,
every new start is hard to make.
What is play today
is serious tomorrow.
But the main thing is:
Don't be scared.
Specters, hideous scornful faces.
All of this is part of the famous
Imster Schemenlaufen.
Scheller and Roller are the famous figures
of this heathenish, mystic custom.
Scary men with large bells on their waist
symbolize the harsh winter.
The nimble youth with the bright
sounding bells symbolize the spring.
A whirling dance
where heaven and hell, life and death,
winter and spring collide.
Meanwhile, the ice hockey players
are dancing another kind of dance.
Character, commitment and drama,
the fastest team sport in the word
was embodied by the match
between Canada and the Soviet Union.
During the game the reigning king
of ice hockey, Canada,
demonstrated once again
their former strength and glory.
Goal for the Soviet Union.
Such joy and excitement.
This goal meant the chance
to become the next Olympic champions.
But Canada puts up a strong resistance.
The team takes the lead
twice during the match,
but loses in the end
to the best team of this tournament.
But even in defeat, the strength
of the Canadians is apparent.
They only loose by 2:3.
Marked by the struggle,
the players in their team boxes.
Still out of breath,
but minutes later,
they'll jump back onto the ice
and fight on with all of their strength.
Seth Martin, the Canadian goaltender.
He's the best goaltender in a tournament
filled with athletic personalities.
Canada puts up an impressive fight.
Under pressure,
they try with all their might,
continually mounting attacks on the goal
of the Soviet Union's superior team.
Goal for Canada by Forhan.
But this victory is not enough
to turn the game around.
A constant give and take
is the unwritten law of this tough sport.
Ice hockey is not
for the squeamish and weak.
Ice hockey is a sport for real men.
But at certain moments
even tough men turn into children.
Tears of joy, cries of excitement,
cheerful laughter,
it's all a part of the scene.
The dream of the Olympic gold
has become reality.
But with great emotion and enthusiasm
they first honour their opponents.
Would their rejoicing be this great
if they hadn't felt
the possibility of defeat?
Sometimes it is more dangerous to be
the team coach than a team member.
Finally a handshake with the opponent.
Acknowledgement and recognition.
Farewell and also an invitation
to the next match.
In Ice hockey
you are bound into a system.
Your are part of a vibrant machinery,
a member of a community
and not so solitary
or self-reliant as the skiers.
The most difficult test of strength,
running technique and will
is the 50 kilometre cross-country event.
The coaches wait alongside the track.
They give their prot?g?s comfort,
they cheer them on,
they keep them informed
about the progression of the race
and, if necessary, they lie to them.
The coaches and
all the spectators are present,
but yet, the athletes are on their own.
They're alone with their bodies
and their will
to push their bodies to the limit
along a 50-kilometre course.
During this solitary pursuit
along the course
all of their wishes
coalesce into a single wish:
to reach the finish,
the finish, the finish...
The protagonist at the start of the race
is the Finn Kalevi H?m?l?inen.
After 25 kilometres,
he's almost one minute ahead
of his closest competitors.
One of these rivals
is the Swede Assar R?nnlund.
Assar R?nnlund seems
to have Herculean strength.
He races uphill as if there weren't
already many kilometres on his legs.
And here is the biggest contender,
Sweden's cross-country king
Sixten Jernberg.
During the last 10 kilometres of the race,
the drama of Kalevi H?m?l?inen's run
unfolds.
Burned out and exhausted
he struggles to stay on track.
But he already knows that he is beaten.
H?m?l?inen drops from first place
back to 16th place.
Alongside this tragedy
spectators witness the duel for victory
between the compatriots Assar R?nnlund
and Sixten Jernberg,
who've bypassed two-time Olympic
champion Eero M?ntyranta from Finland.
R?nnlund is still unbelievably strong.
Powerfully he rushes up the climb.
That's the style of a world class athlete.
But Jernberg doesn't show
any signs of weaknesses either.
He is getting stronger
and faster and more confident.
This race is about to come to an end.
The Finn Arto Tiainen wearing number 1
has already crossed the finish line
and won third place.
The victory however
will be bitterly contested.
R?nnlund right before the finish.
A look that reveals all the wishes, hopes
and excitement of a cross-country athlete.
And Jernberg,
the great chaser and tracker,
has overtaken all of his opponents
in the last few kilometres.
Even Assar R?nnlund.
Jernberg was one minute faster
than all the other athletes.
Sixten Jernberg crosses the finish line.
He remains the king of the ski track.
This was his greatest birthday present.
The Swede wins
his fourth Olympic gold medal.
It seems appropriate at this point
to cast our gaze back into the past
and recall the noble ideas the Greeks
based their Olympic competitions on.
They have nearly been forgotten,
but it is worth
bringing them to light again.
It was believed that the dead held
an abiding influence over the living,
beneficent or maleficent,
as the case may be.
So the competitions of youth
were celebrated
as a form of appeasement
between the living and the dead.
For the sake of appeasement,
people came to fill the stadiums
of Olympia, Nemea and Corinth.
People attended to honour
the gods and their heroes.
And under the Olympic flame
at Bergisel,
the Winter Games
reach their apotheosis.
The best jumpers in the world
battle for Olympic victory
on the large hill.
Every jump is an image of man's
liberation from fear and gravity.
An attempt to reach for the sky.
The Finn Veikko Kankkonen wins silver
with two nearly perfect jumps.
The Norwegian Toralf Engan won gold.
He, and with him many others,
achieved the goal of the Olympics:
Perfection!
GREAT BRITAIN
AUSTRIA
POLAND
In the name of all the competitors
I promise
that we shall take part
in these Olympic Games
respecting and abiding
by the rules that govern them
in the true spirit of sportsmanship,
for the glory of sport
and the honour of our teams.
Thrilling drama, colour and speed.
That is ice hockey.
The Soviet Union
versus Czechoslovakia.
Goal for the Soviet Union.
After 16 minutes, the Soviet Union
surprisingly leads with a score of 4:0.
The game has been decided.
The spectacular final score is 7:5.
A game full of passion and enthusiasm.
Sweden versus the USA,
the winner of Squaw Valley.
This match meets the crowd's taste.
Sweden wins 7:4.
The Olympic Games are not simply
grand scenes of sturdy men.
Women also fight for fame with
the persistence and elegance of their sex.
3x5 kilometre relay.
Eight women battle for the top position.
At the fore, the Finn Senja Pusula.
She doesn't hold the lead long
and the hopes of a victory for
Finland's cross-country skier is over.
First to pass the baton are
the Soviet skiers Kolchina and Mekshilo.
They're followed by the Swedes
Martinsson and Strandberg.
Senja Pusula comes in fourth behind
Christine Nestler from the German team.
The last exchange.
Klavdiya Boyarskikh,
the Soviet team's closing skier,
glides along towards the finish followed
by the teams from Sweden and Finland.
The Soviet women's cross-country
skiing team were simply unbeatable.
The most successful athlete was
the Siberian teacher Klavdiya Boyarskikh.
She won every women's gold medal
there was to win in Seefeld.
Klavdiya Boyarskikh at the finish.
Smiling, the Swede Toini Gustafsson
finishes the race. Silver for Sweden.
Then comes Finland's closing skier
Mirja Lehtonen. She claims the bronze.
The joy of the Soviet skiers
is enormous.
For the first time,
they've won in this Olympic discipline.
Before the enormous
Olympic Ice Stadium,
the speed skaters
executed their dramatic runs.
The high-performance devices of
modern timekeeping methods are checked.
Starting pistol for the 500 m race.
The Soviet world record holder Grishin.
His style represents the elegance
and dynamic of speed skating.
In slow motion,
the commanding rhythm and precision
of the gliding movements are revealed.
At 40. 6 seconds, Yevgeny Grishin
and his compatriot Vladimir Orlov,
together with Norwegian Alv Gjestvang,
reach second place.
Gold! With a dramatic run,
it's the young Terry McDermott,
the speedy Figaro from the USA.
A new Olympic record by...
His record time
adds up to 40. 1 seconds.
Behind him, the world's top athletes
who finished at 40. 6 seconds.
Suspense and drama
in the 5, 000 meters event.
On the course
ahead of Malkin of England
is the Norwegian national hero
Kupper'n Johannesen.
The 30-year-old athlete
won the gold in Squaw Valley
for the 10,000 meters event.
He's racing against two opponents.
First, against time
and also against his compatriot
Per Ivar Moe,
who's already sitting on the sidelines
after finishing with a time
of seven minutes, 38. 6 seconds.
At the start of the final lap,
Johannesen still trails Moe,
but the athlete is accustomed to winning
and finishes ahead of Moe in the end.
Gold for Johannesen.
Gold for Mrs. Johannesen.
Below us lies the mountain country.
We are in Tyrol.
We are in Tyrol.
Travellers are well acquainted
with these magnificent views
which again and again show
how contrasts exist side by side.
Above all, it may be the character
of the mountain farming communities
and the proximity of nature
that produces such a profound impression.
Seeing this life of mountain solitude,
it's not hard to imagine the miracle
of the heavens touching the earth.
In this majestic landscape,
the link between man and alpine sports
seems to have come about on its own.
This also explains why Innsbruck,
city in the mountains,
is more than most any other city
well suited to the Olympic ideal.
Innsbruck, with an eager heart
and a sense of sportsmanship,
has taken great pains to give the world
a welcoming meeting place.
"Upon this city, rests God's
affectionate hand, "as the poet said.
In the old town, one feels that
nature and art stand side by side,
that the old and the new
go hand in hand.
Of course, Innsbruck
may just be one among many cities.
But the mountains peek
through the windows of every house
beckoning the residents to come out
and explore them in every season.
Here on top of our mountains
On our mountains
where it is so beautiful
As with most forms of sports,
what started as work
and utilitarian transport,
was then converted by imaginative people
into games and recreation
then finally into serious sport.
For the first time, luge debuts
in Olympic competition at Innsbruck.
Bold and fast,
they shoot through the ice curves.
It takes courage, strength
and body control
and a good feel
for the ideal lines on an ice track
to become an Olympic champion.
The German and Austrian lugers
overshadowed all of their rivals.
The Germans Klaus Bonsack
and Thomas K?hler
completely dominate
the men's individual runs.
Bronze for Helene Thurner of Austria.
Gold for Enderlein from Germany.
Preparation
for the two-man bobsleigh event.
The approach has come to play
an important athletic role
which can be decisive.
The new Olympic track at Innsbruck
is the fastest in the world.
Following the ideal line
is the secret of the bobsled pilot.
Even a small steering error
can add hundredths of a second.
The winners in two-man bobsleigh,
Britons Anthony Nash and Robin Dixon,
dethrone the two successful Italian
world champions Zardini and Monti.
The witches' cauldron,
the most impressive curve
on the Olympic bobsleigh track.
The pilot must stand the test
of this steep face.
Here is the ideal line.
Whoever fails to follow this line
risks missing the entry
to the straightaway.
Ready to go.
The Italian four-man bobsled
with the renowned
Eugenio Monti as pilot.
The sleigh in the witches' cauldron.
A change of the guard is about
to take place in the bobsleigh.
Bronze for Monti.
The Austrian team with Erwin Thaler
reaches for the gold.
But in the end they take the silver.
The Canadians start with aircraft dealer
Victor Emery as pilot.
A worn-out Italian bobsled.
Too old for most teams,
but it carries Emery
and his team-mates to success.
Bobsleigh is not just a sport.
It is a passion that pursues its devotees
even into their dreams.
The bobsledder knows that in every race
he's survived a dangerous adventure.
An autograph from Erwin Thaler
is worth a lot.
And Olympic splendour even touches those
who lift the victors onto their shoulders.
Right before the Winter Games began,
Innsbruck was without snow.
Nature seemed to have other plans.
With a mixture
of compressed air and water,
snow cannons spray onto the slopes
the snow the heavens denied us.
Snow blowers for clearing
deep snow from the roads
were used to pulverize snow masses
that were brought from the distant
side valley Gschnitztal to the ski runs.
In baskets, soldiers
of the Austrian Armed Forces
transported winter to the slopes
of the village Axamer Lizum.
Just so, with innumerable efforts,
the slopes for the alpine events
came into shape.
In specifically constructed trenches,
the snow from higher areas
was poured downhill.
A picture reminiscent of the transport of
felled trees down from the mountains.
In certain spots, water hoses were used
to bind the snow to the hillsides.
Anyone with feet to stamp with
was urged to walk the slopes.
Even Professor Wolfgang took up his feet
to figuratively and exemplarily
put finishing touches on the slopes.
As the Eskimos have shown us
ice and snow can be used
as construction material.
The frozen waterways supply
the bricks and slush the mortar.
This practice is known as Aperschnalzen.
It is still the middle of winter.
In 1964, the weather gods led
man and animal alike by the nose.
These Innsbruck youths attempt
to drive away the winter by whip cracking.
At Patscherkofel is the venue
for the men's alpine skiing competition.
Who would expect to find a ski run
in this kind of weather?
The mood is rather
that of a spring festival.
Even dear old Grandma takes part.
Inside the electronic data centre,
modern calculating devices bring a quicker
and more precise determination of results.
Preparations before the start
of the race on the Aperen Alm.
Our athletes resemble
swimmers without water,
horseback riders without horses.
Everything for beauty.
And the beauty contest
is another competition event.
Cannons for the hot shot athletes.
But with the proper perspective
an old camera will do just as well.
First up is the American Bill Kidd.
The Frenchman L?o Lacroix.
The great adventure
on the 3, 120-meter-long course begins.
L?o Lacroix risks it all to win it all.
This is how the athlete
races downhill towards the valley.
A wide and solid white band
through the steep high forest.
The slope on the Patscherkofel.
The champion's run,
the Austrian Egon Zimmermann.
Wolfgang Bartels of Germany
wins bronze.
Finding the right line
is also the art of the alpine ski racer.
Choosing the wrong line
will cost you hundredths of a second
and the chance at victory.
Seventy seven skiers took on
the mountain and themselves.
Downhill skiing is more
than just a sports competition.
It is overcoming one's fears.
All of the start and finish times,
scores and jumping distances
will be sent from the competition venues
directly to the electronic data centre
via a new remote
data transmission system.
The results will be calculated
to within fractions of seconds.
A few moments after the athlete
has crossed the finish line
his finishing time and ranking
are already visible on the scoreboard.
Millions of accumulated pieces
of information are turned into results.
These documents are sent
via the remote data transmission system
from the competition venues
simultaneously,
then duplicated and handed
to journalists and officials.
The president of Austria, Mr. Sch?rf
and the mayor of Innsbruck, Mr. Lugger
congratulate the winner,
Egon Zimmermann.
France's sports minister Maurice Herzog
is pleased with L?o Lacroix's performance.
The Ismailis are satisfied
with Prince Aga Khan's performance,
and Toni Sailer
with all of his successors.
The game of defying gravity
plays a role in many different sports
Differently at the Patscherkofel
than during pair figure skating
in the Olympic Ice Stadium.
The ideal figure skating pair
is made up of two personalities
who succeed at combining
their skills in total harmony.
The Canadians Wilkes
and Revell win third place.
The German world champions
Marika Kilius and J?rgen B?umler.
Their position as favourites
weighs heavily on their shoulders.
Their freestyle section is flawless.
But it is only enough
for the silver medal.
5. 8, 5. 8, 5. 8, 5.4,
5. 8, 5. 8, 5. 7.
Thank you.
The last pair before the break:
Lyudmila Belousova and
Oleg Protopopov from the USSR.
And now for the final.
On the ice, the Soviet champions
Lyudmila and Oleg Protopopov.
An effortless elegance of performance,
complete harmony of movement,
sweeping beauty
even during difficult presentations:
that is the magic of pair figure skating.
Gold for the Protopopovs,
silver for Kilius/B?umler
and bronze for Wilkes/Revell.
It's all about gold, silver or bronze
in Axamer Lizum as well
during the women's slalom race.
Who will be successful?
The doctor already knows.
The slalom monitoring film crew
is getting in position.
The slalom requires
a lot of preparation.
Meditation before the race.
Christl waxes the top of her skis.
Edith chooses the bottom side.
The Frenchwoman
Marielle Goitschel at the start line.
Boldly, the young woman
from the Val d'Is?re
scores the best time on her first run.
Slalom is a dance on an inclined plane.
Only athletes who find the right rhythm
will be successful.
The German Heidi Biebl was not able
to find her rhythm during this race.
She only reached fourth place
in the overall ranking.
Atop of the towers, the camera crews
of the slalom monitoring film are busy.
Each official slalom has to be
filmed for monitoring purposes.
The exposed film
is taken to the lab by a messenger.
OFFICIAL SLALOM FILM LAB
His run isn't measured
in hundredths of seconds,
but it makes him thirsty nonetheless.
Expert eyes follow Christine's run
who will take the gold medal from
her sister Marielle in the second run.
Technology in the service of sports.
Mere minutes after the athlete
crosses the finish line
the film is developed
in high-performance machines
within a very short span of time.
Another Olympic record.
The American Jean Saubert
is hoping for a bronze medal.
Every run is checked
at the editing table
and hung on an illuminated screen
for visual inspection.
The international jury assesses
of the official monitoring film.
The fall of Austrian skier Traudl Hecher
is shown and studied.
In this way each and every error
and their causes become visible.
The big sought-after moment.
Christine Goitschel takes
her rightful place on the winner's podium.
Her sister, Marielle, is celebrating her.
Even Jean Saubert gets a jubilant kiss.
Christine doesn't seem to be
quite as steady on level ground.
In the Olympic Ice Hall
not only the ice hockey teams
but also the figure skating judges ignite
the passionate interest of the audience.
On the ice, the Austrian Emmerich Danzer.
His freestyle section was the third-best.
He clearly outperformed
Karol Div?n of Czechoslovakia,
but could not surpass him.
Div?n's margin for his compulsory section
was too large.
The young American
Scott Allen, however,
pushes Div?n out of the running
and takes third place.
The battle for an Olympic victory
leads through purgatory
for the three-time European champion,
Alain Calmat.
This is not just a fall.
It's a plummet from the heights
of his victory hopes.
The audience witnesses
the tragic fall of a great athlete.
Calmat, the great artist on ice,
fails in the end.
His soaring flight ends in failure.
Immaculate and dreamily beautiful is
this jump of Veikko Kankkonen of Finland.
The quick hand on the snow
in the run-out deprived him of victory.
Calmat fell, but the jury granted him
the silver medal in the end.
5. 7, 5.4, 5. 7, 5. 3,
5. 7, 5. 6, 5. 6, 5. 8.
With an outstanding performance
that outshines all former mishaps
the German skater Manfred Schnelldorfer
becomes the next Olympic champion.
High and secure,
that's how Schnelldorfer,
student of architecture, builds his jumps.
A well deserved and commanding victory
for Manfred Schnelldorfer.
At the Olympic village recreation centre,
athletes from every nation relax together.
The twist remains the twist.
There isn't any twist.
This foosball table reignites
their passion for competition.
They all get along,
though they may not get
what the other is saying.
Their language is the language
of sports, friendship and youth.
And games belong there as well,
as does the heart.
But there are also peaceful oases
within the recreation centre.
Japanese athletes will find their
local newspapers in the reading room,
just like the Norwegians, Americans
and Lebanese will find theirs.
Below us,
not in bright sunshine for a change,
lies the downhill slope
of the ski Amazons.
625 meters of elevation change
separate the finish from the start.
20,000 spectators,
despite the bitter cold,
surround the white stadium.
Race start for the Austrian athlete
Traudl Hecher.
Despite a painful ankle injury
she has a fantastic run.
The last decisive change of direction
before the finish line.
Traudl Hecher doesn't give away
one tenth of a second.
The Tyrolean has made it.
She's won third place.
On the slope is the fragile
German athlete Barbi Henneberger.
Her heat was less successful.
In spite of a flawless performance,
she only reaches fifth place.
Grace and guts are shown by
the Austrian Edith Zimmermann,
who with elegant ski control
commands the slope,
whose gentle curves and turns
evoke a feminine nature.
Especially eager for the descent,
Christl Haas, the girl from Kitzb?hel.
She knows that today is her big day.
A cheerful mood, a fighting spirit,
well waxed skis
and a slope made for her.
Christl Haas on the long home stretch
that again calls for total
concentration and sturdiness.
The victory is hers to keep.
Three winners from one country.
Three different temperaments,
three medals for Austria.
A kiss from her mother
is the biggest reward for Christl Haas.
The big race is over
for the 10,000 people in Axamer Lizum
and for the men
of the mountain rescue team
who did not have to step in
during the race.
These men would have deserved
many of a medal.
For Traudl Hecher, after the race
there was not only the bronze medal,
but also a brand-new cast
and friendly consolation.
It doesn't always have to be the gold
During our big games
There can only be one person
To cross the finish line first
It is so great to fight
with fairness and skills
But for the win you also need
a little bit of luck
Once again, 50,000 people
are on the move.
Again, a caravan of yellow elephants
wend their way to Axamer Lizum.
Men's giant slalom.
The big slalom slope on the Birgitsk?pfl
is extremely steep.
Seventy-five slalom gates
spread across 1, 500 meters
gives the giant slalom a very fast pace
and delivers the fascinating
experience of high speeds.
The Austrian Pepi Stiegler
applies his brilliant technique
rationally and intelligently.
Pepi Stiegler is only bested
by two other athletes.
One of them is the Frenchman
Fran?ois Bonlieu,
the mountain guide from Chamonix.
Another calm and extraordinary athlete.
Bonlieu runs the race of his life,
becoming Olympic champion.
The big shock of the race
was provided by men's downhill
gold medal winner, Egon Zimmermann.
A disastrous fall
turns hope into disappointment.
A fall that shocked everybody.
Almost everybody.
He can finally relax.
The Olympic Games are over for him.
A very dynamic run is what
Austrian Karl Schranz delivers.
As the last athlete of the first round,
he's left with less than perfect
conditions on the slope.
However, due to his skills,
he takes second place.
Some athletes did have difficulties
standing on their feet on the mountain.
This does go down smoothly.
There are no medals awarded
for these dangerous downhill runs.
Karl Schranz, the silver medal winner
of the giant slalom and Fran?ois Bonlieu.
Both celebrate their medals.
In front of the Olympic Ice Stadium,
the sun shines for the female skaters.
False start.
Before excited spectators, the female
speed skaters display power and grace.
But also their subjugation
to a single competitor
who completely dominates at Innsbruck.
The Russian speed skater
Lidiya Skoblikova,
a teacher from Sverdlovsk.
On the shining track, Lidiya Skoblikova
and German Helga Haase
race in the 1500 meters event.
Two housewives
found their love for speed skating.
Lidiya Skoblikova,
in the left lane, is ahead,
but at this point in the race
nothing has been decided yet.
During the next lane change
Helga Haase takes the lead.
But throughout
the dreaded 1500 meters event,
which is too long for one long sprint
and not long enough for rest breaks,
Lidiya Skoblikova
dominates in every aspect.
She makes her way across the ice
with smooth but powerful movements.
With her elegance
she refutes the old criticism
that speed skating is no sport for women.
Lidiya Skoblikova won all four
gold medals awarded in Innsbruck.
She's the most successful participant
of the ninth Olympic Winter Games.
All attempts to dethrone Lidiya Skoblikova
were unsuccessful.
But in the final laps of the 1500 meters,
you can openly see the strain,
the stress these young women
take upon themselves.
As Valentina Stenina of the Soviet Union
crosses the finish...
then the American Jan Smith
tumbles across the finish line.
She has no strength left.
Her body seems to be an empty shell.
In the end the limitations for women
in speed skating become quite apparent.
A trip by helicopter to Seefeld.
The village band
is mustered for the reception.
In Tyrol they certainly know how to give
their guests a hearty welcome.
There's no shortage of guests to see
the ski-jumping event on the normal hill.
The proper preparation of the sturdy
jumping skis is half the battle.
In Seefeld, the Finn Veikko Kankkonen
climbs up for the highest jump
of his athletic career.
The international skiing elite is here.
Style and temperament
are revealed in these jumps.
Former world champions
Toni Seelos and Sepp Bradl
reminisce on their own past.
The Norwegian Toralf Engan
and the Finn Veikko Kankkonen
wage a solitary battle for the gold.
The last jump of the competition
ensures the win for Kankkonen.
With the assurance of a man
who's deciphered nature's secret,
Kankkonen wins the gold medal.
Among the judges, there's no debate.
The jumper, who leaps onto the shoulders
of his friends, is Veikko Kankkonen.
Another great athlete
is the German Georg Thoma.
The athletes of the Nordic combined event
showed great jumping talent.
Concentrated and elegant,
Georg Thoma during his last jump.
The mail-man from the Black Forest
edges out his closest competitor,
Norwegian, Tormod Knutsen,
but only beats him by a few points.
Rivals in competition but friends in life,
Georg Thoma and Tormod Knutsen.
Until the next event, Nordic combined.
The ski tracks
at the train station in Seefeld.
Just as small and diminutive
as the skiers appear below us
is man before the immensity of nature.
And yet man manages hold his own
against this superior force
through his spirit and will.
The German
Roland Wei?pflog begins the course.
On the ski-track,
the Norwegian Arne Barhaugen,
one of the strongest contenders
in this discipline.
Even stronger than Italian Ezio Damolin.
The Austrian Heigenhauser
and the Swiss Alois K?lin.
Tormod Knutsen in powerful form.
An unyielding competitive spirit
drives him along the course.
Supported by people such as the former
Olympic champion Sverre Stenersen.
The big winner of this event
will be the Swiss Alois K?lin.
The last uphill in slow motion.
But K?lin missed all his chances
during the ski-jumping section
and is thus unable to recover
the grand prize with this performance.
The mail goes out.
Ski, Georg!
A friendly invitation for Georg Thoma.
And the German skis.
Though his skis don't function properly.
He overtakes the Italian Enzo Perin,
but cannot hold his advantage
from the ski-jumping section
against Tormod Knutsen.
The Norwegian at the finish.
Thoma during the final uphill
in slow motion.
He's suffering with skis
that slip too much during the climb.
But he still gives it his all,
even though he knows he's defeated.
Not only has Knutsen passed him
in the Nordic combined event
but also the Soviet athlete
Nikolay Kiselyov.
Thoma at the finish.
He has overcome himself.
He already wanted to give up
at two kilometres.
A grand achievement.
It's only a matter of moments
that decide an athlete's fate in sports.
Tormod Knutsen, the big winner,
and just a few steps away from him,
isolated in his defeat,
the big loser, Georg Thoma.
Winning makes you hungry.
Tormod Knutsen agrees
and gladly accepts the novel invitation
of former world champion Toni Seelos.
This is an authentic Tyrolean
Holzhackerschmarrn.
Knutsen is familiar with this kind of food
from his home in the mountains of Norway.
Klavdiya Boyarskikh,
more used to caviar, is not so sure.
And Vladimir Melanin,
gold medalist in the Biathlon discipline,
won't say no to this blueberry juice.
And here's the man himself, the former
world ski champion. He loves the food.
From sensory pleasures
back to the athletic attractions.
In the Olympic Ice Hall,
30 young women from three continents
show off their wonderful
artistic interplay with gravity.
The Canadian Petra Burka.
Her performance is full
of momentum and self-confidence.
She won't win in Innsbruck,
but the future is hers.
Petra Burka takes third place.
Next up, Regine Heitzer from Austria.
Because of Petra Burka,
Regine Heitzer runs the risk
of losing her second place standing
from the compulsory section.
The Viennese skater performs
an ambitious freestyle section.
Up until this small error
during the double axel.
Regine Heitzer's dance-like performance
wins her the silver medal.
Holland's ice queen Sjoukje Dijkstra.
She was already Olympic champion
at the start of her performance
for her lead from the compulsory
was too wide to be overtaken.
But also the audience
chose her to be the winner.
Her freestyle performance
was simply the best.
Athletic power and elegant movements
characterize the superior style
of the Olympic champion Sjoukje Dijkstra.
Back outside among the massive
Tyrolean mountains.
Below us the winter magic
of the village Axamer Lizum.
The race may begin.
Women's giant slalom
on the Hoadl slope.
Christine Goitschel. Go!
The race starts with an open slope.
The Frenchwoman
stands calmly on her skis.
She finds the best line
between the poles,
the best connection
between start and finish.
Christine Goitschel
secures second place,
together with the American
Jean Saubert...
nothing could break her focus.
Down to a hundredth of a second
Jean Saubert reaches the finish
with the same time as Christine Goitschel.
Different styles but the same result.
The paths to happiness
are not always the same.
With a drive to prove her superiority
and a carefree self-confidence
Marielle Goitschel starts.
Nobody is able to match her skills.
A great athlete wins
a well deserved reward:
the Olympic gold medal.
Marielle Goitschel,
with this performance,
is nearly one second faster than
Jean Saubert and her sister Christine.
Nearly a full second.
An enormous amount when it comes
down to hundredths of a second.
The same flags fly at the Axamer Lizum
and Seefeld venues.
But while alpine skiers
dominate the former,
Nordic skiers dominate the latter.
Start for the 4x10 kilometre relay.
A fascinating picture.
Fifteen skiers battle for the lead.
Even the first few meters are decisive.
In the lead, the Russian Utrobin
before the Swede Asph.
Here's the pack of followers
during the first climb.
The spectators follow the athletes' lead
and set out cross-country
to reach the best viewpoints.
The third skier of each team
gets ready for his turn.
In the lead is the Russian
Igor Voronchikhin.
The last baton pass of a dramatic race.
The Finn Eero M?ntyranta
and the Swiss Assar R?nnlund
have taken the lead.
With swift steps
the athletes chase up the hill.
In third position
is the Soviet athlete Pavel Kolchin
and behind him the Norwegian giant
Harald Gr?nningen.
These two were in the lead
just before the last exchange,
but now...
The climb is causing
Gr?nningen some trouble.
The athletes race through
an endless wall of spectators
and cross the finish line
shortly after each other.
First the Swede Assar R?nnlund.
Shortly afterwards,
Eero M?ntyranta from Finland.
And the last member of the Soviet team,
Kolchin, in third place.
A quick look over the shoulder,
not out of anger, however.
Four men, four gold medals but one team.
RACE OFFICE
The big gamble for starting numbers,
a peek behind the scenes.
This is where
important decisions are made.
Interpreting equipment facilitates
communication between nations.
All team leaders are present
and pay close attention to the randomly
selected placement of their prot?g?s.
The lots are drawn by children.
They determine tiny advantages
that could have a huge impact.
The names of the athletes
are placed on big starter panels.
An endless string of cars
is making its way into Axamer Lizum.
Some drivers would probably
rather slalom down the track
but the slope is way too narrow.
The men's slalom event is the biggest
attraction of all alpine skiing events.
60,000 spectators
are gathered around the slope.
A tense anticipation is in the air.
Athletes say that they memorize
every inch of the slope like a poem.
Every difficult pole, every difficult
combination, is committed to memory
But it is impossible
to discover every secret of the track.
The great unmasking
will only happen after the race.
The German Ludwig Leitner.
He has a chance at victory.
But only a few meters after the start
the slope reveals its true colours.
Leitner avoids falling down and takes
fifth place in the overall ranking.
The Austrian Pepi Stiegler.
With this perfect run without any errors
he wins the gold medal.
His run is the crowning achievement
of his athletic career.
At this time, one contender for victory
is still the Frenchman Bonlieu.
The camera captured the dramatic run of
the athlete from Chamonix in slow motion.
...seconds.
Number 15, Fran?ois Bonlieu of France,
has dropped out of the race.
The unerring eye of the camera
of the slalom monitoring films
shows the well balanced performance
of the world's top athletes.
But it also reveals the small errors
that can lead to the loss
of hundredths of a second.
As a carefree outsider with nothing
to lose but everything to gain,
Billy Kidd wins the silver medal.
Karl Schranz, who was hoping
for the win after his first run
and the world champion title
after the men's combination event,
met with the same fate as Fran?ois Bonlieu
during his second run.
Guy P?rillat did not have much luck
during his first run.
But he finished his second run
with the best time.
But one run is not enough
in the slalom event.
Only those who have performed well
in both runs can win.
The young American Jimmy Heuga,
starting number 24,
proves wrong those who believe
that only skiers in the first starting
group stand a chance at a medal.
His certainty is just as astonishing
as his technique.
Jimmy Huega wins the bronze medal.
Differences in style are barely noticeable
amongst the world class athletes.
The will to win is the determining factor.
Here are our three medal winners.
Only fractions of a second separated them
from all the other contenders.
As consolation,
an interview with Michel Arpin
and a sisterly kiss for Bonlieu.
Born to ski,
live to ski
and lost without skis.
That is the mantra for the ski crazy youth
living in the mountains.
The young people's enthusiasm
doesn't need any prompting.
Just give them a little age,
maturity and a certain skill set
and these girls and boys will grow
into the starlets and stars of tomorrow.
On the slope, the way is short
before you take your first fall.
And your first fall won't be your last,
even if you try to make it past.
But one consolation you can take,
every new start is hard to make.
What is play today
is serious tomorrow.
But the main thing is:
Don't be scared.
Specters, hideous scornful faces.
All of this is part of the famous
Imster Schemenlaufen.
Scheller and Roller are the famous figures
of this heathenish, mystic custom.
Scary men with large bells on their waist
symbolize the harsh winter.
The nimble youth with the bright
sounding bells symbolize the spring.
A whirling dance
where heaven and hell, life and death,
winter and spring collide.
Meanwhile, the ice hockey players
are dancing another kind of dance.
Character, commitment and drama,
the fastest team sport in the word
was embodied by the match
between Canada and the Soviet Union.
During the game the reigning king
of ice hockey, Canada,
demonstrated once again
their former strength and glory.
Goal for the Soviet Union.
Such joy and excitement.
This goal meant the chance
to become the next Olympic champions.
But Canada puts up a strong resistance.
The team takes the lead
twice during the match,
but loses in the end
to the best team of this tournament.
But even in defeat, the strength
of the Canadians is apparent.
They only loose by 2:3.
Marked by the struggle,
the players in their team boxes.
Still out of breath,
but minutes later,
they'll jump back onto the ice
and fight on with all of their strength.
Seth Martin, the Canadian goaltender.
He's the best goaltender in a tournament
filled with athletic personalities.
Canada puts up an impressive fight.
Under pressure,
they try with all their might,
continually mounting attacks on the goal
of the Soviet Union's superior team.
Goal for Canada by Forhan.
But this victory is not enough
to turn the game around.
A constant give and take
is the unwritten law of this tough sport.
Ice hockey is not
for the squeamish and weak.
Ice hockey is a sport for real men.
But at certain moments
even tough men turn into children.
Tears of joy, cries of excitement,
cheerful laughter,
it's all a part of the scene.
The dream of the Olympic gold
has become reality.
But with great emotion and enthusiasm
they first honour their opponents.
Would their rejoicing be this great
if they hadn't felt
the possibility of defeat?
Sometimes it is more dangerous to be
the team coach than a team member.
Finally a handshake with the opponent.
Acknowledgement and recognition.
Farewell and also an invitation
to the next match.
In Ice hockey
you are bound into a system.
Your are part of a vibrant machinery,
a member of a community
and not so solitary
or self-reliant as the skiers.
The most difficult test of strength,
running technique and will
is the 50 kilometre cross-country event.
The coaches wait alongside the track.
They give their prot?g?s comfort,
they cheer them on,
they keep them informed
about the progression of the race
and, if necessary, they lie to them.
The coaches and
all the spectators are present,
but yet, the athletes are on their own.
They're alone with their bodies
and their will
to push their bodies to the limit
along a 50-kilometre course.
During this solitary pursuit
along the course
all of their wishes
coalesce into a single wish:
to reach the finish,
the finish, the finish...
The protagonist at the start of the race
is the Finn Kalevi H?m?l?inen.
After 25 kilometres,
he's almost one minute ahead
of his closest competitors.
One of these rivals
is the Swede Assar R?nnlund.
Assar R?nnlund seems
to have Herculean strength.
He races uphill as if there weren't
already many kilometres on his legs.
And here is the biggest contender,
Sweden's cross-country king
Sixten Jernberg.
During the last 10 kilometres of the race,
the drama of Kalevi H?m?l?inen's run
unfolds.
Burned out and exhausted
he struggles to stay on track.
But he already knows that he is beaten.
H?m?l?inen drops from first place
back to 16th place.
Alongside this tragedy
spectators witness the duel for victory
between the compatriots Assar R?nnlund
and Sixten Jernberg,
who've bypassed two-time Olympic
champion Eero M?ntyranta from Finland.
R?nnlund is still unbelievably strong.
Powerfully he rushes up the climb.
That's the style of a world class athlete.
But Jernberg doesn't show
any signs of weaknesses either.
He is getting stronger
and faster and more confident.
This race is about to come to an end.
The Finn Arto Tiainen wearing number 1
has already crossed the finish line
and won third place.
The victory however
will be bitterly contested.
R?nnlund right before the finish.
A look that reveals all the wishes, hopes
and excitement of a cross-country athlete.
And Jernberg,
the great chaser and tracker,
has overtaken all of his opponents
in the last few kilometres.
Even Assar R?nnlund.
Jernberg was one minute faster
than all the other athletes.
Sixten Jernberg crosses the finish line.
He remains the king of the ski track.
This was his greatest birthday present.
The Swede wins
his fourth Olympic gold medal.
It seems appropriate at this point
to cast our gaze back into the past
and recall the noble ideas the Greeks
based their Olympic competitions on.
They have nearly been forgotten,
but it is worth
bringing them to light again.
It was believed that the dead held
an abiding influence over the living,
beneficent or maleficent,
as the case may be.
So the competitions of youth
were celebrated
as a form of appeasement
between the living and the dead.
For the sake of appeasement,
people came to fill the stadiums
of Olympia, Nemea and Corinth.
People attended to honour
the gods and their heroes.
And under the Olympic flame
at Bergisel,
the Winter Games
reach their apotheosis.
The best jumpers in the world
battle for Olympic victory
on the large hill.
Every jump is an image of man's
liberation from fear and gravity.
An attempt to reach for the sky.
The Finn Veikko Kankkonen wins silver
with two nearly perfect jumps.
The Norwegian Toralf Engan won gold.
He, and with him many others,
achieved the goal of the Olympics:
Perfection!