V. Olympic Winter Games 1948
February 1948: The St. Moritz greengrocer Nino Bibbia hurtles headfirst through an ice canal and wins Gold for Italy in Skeleton. On the same day, his school friend Edy Reinalter winds his way down the sunny slopes of Corviglia and becomes Olympic champion in the Slalom. On the other side of the valley, the Scandinavians jump to a triple victory on the Olympic ski jump. They are followed by an American who is jumping despite a broken arm.
The V. Olympic Winter Games in St. Moritz make history. Not because of new sporting records, as there are only a few of those due to the warm temperatures. But these Winter Games are making history as a whole. Both funny and touching stories unfold here.
Despite all the ambition and disappointments that are part and parcel of sport, these Winter Games, like the second Winter Games which also took place in St. Moritz, do not have a trace of professional ruthlessness, and no one here will be making a great fortune. Most athletes will go home after the Games and go back to work as postmen, teachers or entrepreneurs. But they are happy to be here in St. Moritz – for sport, for fairness, for international togetherness.
The old Olympic ideal of fairness still prevails here, and full-time athletes are not allowed. To train and practise a sport professionally would be a violation of the laws of fairness and equality. All athletes in St. Moritz should compete on equal terms, no one should have an advantage.
For the first time since the Second World War, the idea of sporting fairness is reignited in St. Moritz. Although the performances are ranked according to countries, they are not exploited for nationalistic purposes. Athletes, even whole teams, watch the competitions in other disciplines, get to know each other, exchange ideas. And perhaps the positive atmosphere in St. Moritz will also contributes to Antoinette Meyer, the Silver medallist in the Slalom, marrying Karl Molitor, the Bronze medallist in the Downhill, in the same year!
Skeleton
Olympic Games 1948
Thursday, 5. February 1948: 13 riders remain. Hugo Kuranda (AUT) and Christian Fischbacher (SUI) had completed their runs on Tuesday. And today, as the three other runs are not starting from the “Junction” starting point but from the very top, even fewer riders arrive at the finish. Switzerland’s Milo Bigler climbed back onto his skeleton after a fall and finished the first run, but crashed again in the third run. In the end, only nine of the 15 riders completed all the runs.
One of these nine riders benefited from prior experience: John Rutherford Heaton (USA) had already won Olympic Silver 20 years ago on the legendary Cresta Run – and today he came in second again.
The big surprise, however, is Nino Bibbia: the Italian, who grew up in St. Moritz, becomes Olympic champion. And on the same day, his school friend Romedy “Edy” Reinalter wins the Special Slalom. Incidentally, Nino Bibbia will also be seen the following Saturday in the four-man bobsleigh, finishing in 6th place. And he will continue to race skeleton until he is 76 years old. All in all, he competed in more than 230 races.
Skeleton equipment 1948: crash helmet, aluminium shells on hands, boots with spikes, leather knee and elbow bandages.
Course specifications: The Cresta Run has ten curves and a difference in altitude of 157 metres over its length of 1,214 metres.
On a more personal note, Nino Bibbia wanted to compete in five disciplines in 1948, for he was also an avid hockey player, bobsledder, cross-country skier and ski jumper.
Medalists
Thursday, 5. February 1948
1st: Nino Bibbia (ITA), 323,2 s
2nd: John Rutherford Heaton (USA), 324,6 s
3rd: John Crammond (GBR), 325,1 s
(aggregate time after 6 runs)
Bobsleigh
Olympic Games 1948
Saturday, 7 February 1948: You could easily lose your mind. Yesterday there was a burst water pipe and the bobsleigh race had to be stopped in the middle of the second run. And today the Americans noticed shortly before the start that they had a loose screw. But that didn’t matter: remaining calm and collected, they put their four-man bobsleigh in order and set the best time in two of the three runs. And that was enough. Gold for USA II.
And what about the Swiss? Felix Endrich and Friedrich Waller had already won Gold in the two-man bobsleigh last Saturday, and today the two Olympic champions are competing in the four-man bobsleigh event. Piloting SUI I is Fritz Feierabend, who won Olympic Silver last Saturday together with his new brakeman Paul Hans Eberhard. Today, however, they were not good enough – SUI I just missed the podium. They finished fourth behind USA teams and the surprisingly good Belgians.
Nevertheless, Fritz Feierabend has reason to be happy. The Olympic champion in two-man bobsleigh, Felix Endrich, is his former pupil – and he won in one of the legendary “Feierabend bobsleighs” designed by Fritz and his father Carl.
Consistency:The course of the track is almost the same today as it was when it was opened in 1904. Over the years, the track has had to be modified to accommodate the higher speeds (In 1948, the length was 1,576 metres; the difference in altitude was 130 metres; the number of bends was 16).
Nostalgia: The legendary “Feierabend” bobsleighs are still used today on special occasions.
Medalists Two-man Bobsleigh
Saturday, 31 January 1948
1st: SUI II (Endrich, Waller), 05 : 29,2 min
2nd: SUI I (Feierabend, Eberhard), 05 : 30,4 min
3rd: USA II (Fortune, Carron), 05 : 35,3 min
(aggregate times after four runs)
Medalists Four-man Bobsleigh
Saturday, 7 Februar 1948
1st: USA II (Tylor, Martin, Rimkus, D’Amico), 05 : 20,1 min
2nd: BEL (Houben, Mansveld, Niels, Mouvet), 05 : 21,3 min
3rd: USA I (Bickford, Hicks, Dupree, Dupree), 05 : 21,5 min
(aggregate times after four runs)
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