In 1952, the Games finally came to Norway, the birthplace of modern skiing. A symbolic flame was lit in the hearth of the home of skiing pioneer Sondre Nordheim, known as the father of Telemark skiing, and the torch relay was conducted by 94 participants entirely on skis. All of the Olympic venues of Oslo 1952 were in the city's metropolitan area, except for the alpine skiing events, which were held at Norefjell.
Andy Mead was the first American alpine skier to win two Olympic gold medals. Mead's first big international moment came in 1948 when she placed third in the Arlberg Kandahar race. Between 1948 and 1952 she won virtually every woman’s race. In 1952, Andrea Mead Lawrence continued her domination of women’s skiing by winning the two technical events (Giant Slalom and Slalom) at the Olympics.
After not being able to host the games in 1944, Cortina d'Ampezzo, in the Dolomite Alps was selected to organize the Winter Olympics. Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956 was the first Winter Games to be televised, and the first Olympics ever broadcast to an international audience.
Austrian Anton "Toni" Sailer swept the men's gold medals, becoming the first person to win three alpine skiing golds in a single Olympics. Led by Sailer, the Austrians dominated the alpine skiing competition for both men and women, winning nine out of a possible eighteen medals.
Known as "The Blitz from Kitz", because of his hometown, Sailer was the greatest Alpine skier in Olympic history. Although his feat of winning all three Alpine events at the 1956 Winter Games was matched by Jean-Claude Killy 12 years later, Sailer's overall performance was far more impressive. First, he won the Giant Slalom by 6.2 seconds, the largest margin of victory in Olympic history. He then won the Slalom, recording the fastest time in both runs, and finally, he closed his participation in the Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956 Winter Games winning the Downhill by 3.5 seconds.
Sailer nearly repeated the feat at the 1958 World Championships in Bad Gastein, Salzburg, Austria, with two golds (Downhill and Giant Slalom) and a silver (Slalom).
