| Event: | Men's Downhill |
| Games: | 1998 Winter |
| Venue: | Hakuba |
| Date: | February 13 |
| Competitors: | 43 |
| Nations: | 18 |
| Win Value: | 1:50.11 |
| Gold: | Jean-Luc Crétier |
| Goldnoc: | FRA |
| Silver: | Lasse Kjus |
| Silvernoc: | NOR |
| Bronze: | Hannes Trinkl |
| Bronzenoc: | AUT |
| Prev: | 1994 |
| Next: | 2002 |
| Men's Downhill | |
| Location: | Hakuba – Happo-One Olympic Course I |
| Vertical: | 925m (3,035feet) |
| Top Elevation: | 1765m (5,791feet) |
| Base Elevation: | 840m (2,760feet) |
The Men's Downhill competition of the Nagano 1998 Olympics was held at Hakuba on Friday, February 13.[1] [2] [3] Originally scheduled for Sunday, the race was postponed several times due to heavy snow, followed by rain and gusty winds.
The reigning world champion was Bruno Kernen of Switzerland, while France's Luc Alphand was the reigning World Cup downhill champion,[4] [5] but had since retired from competition. The defending Olympic champion was Tommy Moe of the United States.
France's Jean-Luc Crétier won the gold medal, Lasse Kjus of Norway took the silver, and the bronze medalist was Hannes Trinkl of Austria; Moe was twelfth and Kernan did not finish.[6] Nine of the first twenty failed to finish, including a crash by favorite Hermann Maier of Austria, which he walked away from.[6] [7] Luca Cattaneo's injury caused a half-hour delay underneath the clear skies, as the temperature at the finish approached 15C. Of the eight with bib numbers 13 through 20, only Moe completed the race;[1] in total, fifteen of the 43 racers did not finish.
It was the sole victory of Crétier's career; he had five World cup podiums, three of which were in the two months preceding the Olympics, at the notable venues of Beaver Creek, Wengen, and Kitzbühel. Entering the Olympics, he was fourth in the season's World Cup downhill standings.[6]
The course started at an elevation of 1765m (5,791feet) above sea level with a vertical drop of 925m (3,035feet) and a course length of 3.289km (02.044miles). Crétier's winning time was 110.11 seconds, yielding an average course speed of 107.532km/h, with an average vertical descent rate of 8.401m/s.
The race was started at 11:00 local time, (UTC +9). At the starting gate, the skies were clear, the temperature was 2.3C, and the snow condition was hard; the temperature at the finish at 12.3C.
| Rank | Bib | Name | Country | Time | Behind | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 1:50.11 | — | ||||
| 10 | 1:50.51 | +0.40 | ||||
| 8 | 1:50.63 | +0.52 | ||||
| 4 | 24 | 1:50.64 | +0.53 | |||
| 5 | 25 | 1:50.71 | +0.60 | |||
| 6 | 7 | 1:50.76 | +0.65 | |||
| 7 | 5 | 1:50.77 | +0.66 | |||
| 8 | 9 | 1:50.91 | +0.80 | |||
| 9 | 26 | 1:51.09 | +0.98 | |||
| 10 | 23 | 1:51.22 | +1.11 | |||
| 11 | 2 | 1:51.34 | +1.23 | |||
| 12 | 17 | 1:51.43 | +1.32 | |||
| 13 | 11 | 1:51.72 | +1.61 | |||
| 14 | 1 | 1:51.74 | +1.63 | |||
| 15 | 30 | 1:52.33 | +2.22 | |||
| 16 | 12 | 1:52.36 | +2.25 | |||
| 17 | 21 | 1:52.62 | +2.51 | |||
| 18 | 33 | 1:52.65 | +2.54 | |||
| 19 | 22 | 1:52.67 | +2.56 | |||
| 20 | 31 | 1:52.79 | +2.68 | |||
| 21 | 36 | 1:53.47 | +3.36 | |||
| 22 | 43 | 1:53.62 | +3.51 | |||
| 23 | 35 | 1:53.93 | +3.82 | |||
| 24 | 38 | 1:54.27 | +4.16 | |||
| 25 | 37 | 1:56.22 | +6.11 | |||
| 26 | 39 | 1:56.59 | +6.48 | |||
| 27 | 42 | 1:58.71 | +8.60 | |||
| 28 | 41 | 1:58.75 | +8.64 | |||
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| 40 |