Kjetil André Aamodt is an alpine skier who has competed for Norway. He competed at the 1992, 1994, 1998, 2002, and 2006 Winter Olympic Games. He is the most decorated alpine skier in Olympic history. He also became the second-youngest and oldest alpine skier to win the gold medal, when he did so at the 1992 and 2006 Winter Olympic Games, at age 20 and 34.
He made his Olympic debut at the downhill event at Albertville 1992, where he finished 26th out of 56 competitors, almost 4 seconds behind gold medalist Patrick Ortlieb. A week later, in the super-G event, he became the youngest Olympic champion in alpine skiing ever, with two of the other Norwegian skiers Jan Einar Thorsen and Ole Christian Furuseth in third and fourth place. Aamodt tried to continue this momentum in the giant slalom event two days later, but was not able to come further than third, behind Albert Tomba and Marc Girardelli, the latter of which he beat for gold in the super-G. His last event of Albertville 1992, the regular slalom, did not go as well, missing a gate in the second run.
Two years later, at Lillehammer 1994, the downhill was once again his first event, and he was able to complete his collection of medals, winning the silver medal on 0.04 seconds of gold medalist Tommy Moe. He continued his medal streak in the super-G, where he was not able to defend his gold medal, but still won bronze, behind Markus Wasmeier and again Tommy Moe. Six days later, the giant slalom ended his fight for the medals, after his first run set him back almost 2 seconds from the medals at 18th place, and despite a good second run with the fifth-fastest time, he was only able to climb to 12th place. The combined event was the only event that he did not participate at in 1992, but with a 6th place in the downhill part, and a 9th place in the slalom part, he was able to win the silver medal, as part of the full Norwegian podium with Lasse Kjus and Hans Christian Strand Nilsen. What remained was the slalom, the event that he was not able to finish two years prior. However, once again, he failed to complete his second run, after setting the second-fastest time in the first run.
Fours years later, in Nagano, he participated in "only" four events, leaving the slalom event be. However, the Olympic Games did not go according to expectations for him. In the downhill event, he only managed to finish 12th in a field of 43, and he did not finish his combined and giant slalom events, both failing to complete the first run. The super-G, the only event where he had won two medals already, went reasonably well, finishing fifth as the best Norwegian skier, almost a second behind Hermann Maier.
In already his fourth Olympic appearance, he went back to competing in all five events, but was not really the big favorite in either of them. According to the world rankings, the downhill would be his best chance, and starting 12th in the field, he eventually finished just behind the podium on 4th place, 0.4 seconds behind the bronze medalist and leader in the world rankings Stephan Eberharter. The combined event, which had mixed results for him in the past, with two non-finishes and one medal, was started strong, with the best time in the downhill part, taking a lead of 0.2 seconds in the first slalom. He retained this lead with the fifth time of the first slalom, taking a second into the second slalom. With another good time in the second slalom, he had 0.3 seconds left at the finish to Bode Miller, who took silver. Three days later, the super-G was the only event where he had finished consistently in the top 5 at the Olympic Games. Starting very early in the field, he set a challenging time, which was ultimately untouched, with three Austrians coming close, taking his seventh Olympic medal, becoming the most decorated alpine skier ever at the Olympic Games. The two remaining events, the giant slalom and the slalom, were two events that he had not performed very well in at the Olympic Games, and they could be considered a bonus. The first run of the giant slalom went maybe according to expectations, on 9th place, and with another good second run, he was able to climb to 7th place. The last event, the slalom, was an event that he had not finished before in Olympic competitions. He was ninth in the world rankings in the discipline, and similar to the previous event, his first run was decent on 7th place, but almost 2 seconds behind the leader Jean-Pierre Vidal. With the fourth time in the second run, he was not able to improve positions, staying on 7th place.
His last Olympic appearance would be in Turin in 2006, and only in the super-G and the downhill events. As one of the oldest athletes in the downhill, he finished just behind the podium again, only 0.06 seconds behind bronze medalist Bruno Kernen. He was also on the entry list for the combined event, but did not start his downhill run. A few days later, he would make his very last Olympic appearance in the super-G, aiming to defend his Olympic title of 2002. As sixth-ranked in the world rankings, he was able to retain his gold medal, with a difference of 0.13 seconds to Hermann Maier, the Olympic champion of 1998 and the leader of the world rankings, becoming the oldest Olympic champion in alpine skiing.
Olympic Results[]
Year | Event | Result |
---|---|---|
1992 | Men's Downhill | 26th |
Men's Super-G | ||
Men's Giant Slalom | ||
Men's Slalom | DNF | |
1994 | Men's Downhill | |
Men's Super-G | ||
Men's Giant Slalom | 12th | |
Men's Slalom | DNF | |
Men's Combined | ||
1998 | Men's Downhill | 13th |
Men's Super-G | 5th | |
Men's Giant Slalom | DNF | |
Men's Combined | DNF | |
2002 | Men's Downhill | 4th |
Men's Super-G | ||
Men's Giant Slalom | 7th | |
Men's Slalom | 6th | |
Men's Combined | ||
2006 | Men's Downhill | 4th |
Men's Super-G | ||
Men's Combined | DNS |
1992[]
Discipline | Round | Time |
---|---|---|
Downhill | Final | 1:54.24 |
Super G | Final | 1:13.04 |
Giant Slalom | Run 1 | 1:04.81 |
Run 2 | 1:03.01 | |
Slalom | Run 1 | 54.42 |
Run 2 | DNF |
1994[]
Discipline | Round | Time |
---|---|---|
Downhill | Final | 1:45.79 |
Super G | Final | 1:32.93 |
Giant Slalom | Run 1 | 1:30.03 |
Run 2 | 1:23.88 | |
Slalom | Run 1 | 1:01.80 |
Run 2 | DNF | |
Combined | Downhill | 1:37.49 |
Slalom Run 1 | 51.77 | |
Slalom Run 2 | 49.29 |
1998[]
Discipline | Round | Time |
---|---|---|
Downhill | Final | 1:51.72 |
Super G | Final | 1:35.67 |
Giant Slalom | Run 1 | DNF |
Run 2 | Did not advance | |
Combined | Slalom Run 1 | 51.77 |
Slalom Run 2 | 49.29 | |
Downhill | DNF |
2002[]
Discipline | Round | Time |
---|---|---|
Downhill | Final | 1:39.78 |
Super G | Final | 1:21.58 |
Giant Slalom | Run 1 | 1:13.14 |
Run 2 | 1:11.48 | |
Slalom | Run 1 | 49.92 |
Run 2 | 52.80 | |
Combined | Downhill | 1:38.79 |
Slalom Run 1 | 46.88 | |
Slalom Run 2 | 51.89 |
2006[]
Discipline | Round | Time |
---|---|---|
Downhill | Final | 1:49.88 |
Super G | Final | 1:30.65 |
Combined | Downhill | DNS |
Slalom Run 1 | Did not advance | |
Slalom Run 2 |