Alpine Skiingthe memory
Olympic gold at the 1992 Albertville Games is the pearl of the career of the Norwegian champion who passed away today. The story of that day, preceded by the first duels with Alberto Tomba.
Wednesday 8 July 2020 5 minutes reading time
The disappearance of Finn Christian Jagge leaves a great void in the world of skiing and, just on the day when the Norwegian champion left us, it is right to dedicate a focus to his magical day, that 22 February 1992 in which the boy grew up in the ski club Baerums (the same as the last World Cup winner, Aleksander Aamodt Kilde) literally entered the Olympus of his sport.
A premise is necessary, before arriving at the date that led Jagge to win the Olympic gold in slalom at the Albertville Games; with 7 World Cup victories, but above all a great continuity at a high level for 15 years, the Scandinavian has proven to be the true champion, the only one capable of beating the best by posting in that season and in that era in general between the narrow posts, Alberto Tomba, in two key races of the 1991/92 vintage.
Albertone had in fact been dominant since the beginning of a World Cup which will then go to an incredible Paul Accola, but who saw the Bolognese ace almost impregnable in slalom (and also in giant, winning both specialty cups): Tomba wins in Park City and is repeated on December 10, 1991 in Sestriere, on the day of the first podium in the cup of Finn Christian Jagge, second to 9 tenths of a second. Exactly a week later, the Norwegian will invent the first of his masterpieces, bending Alberto for only 9 cents in a splendid battle on the 3Tre of Madonna di Campiglio, which crowns a new great opponent for the blue.
In January there will be no history, with a winning Tomb in Kranjska Gora, Kitzbuehel and Wengen, before arriving in France for the Olympics: on a giant scale, on February 18th, Alberto folds Marc Girardelli and gives himself his third title after the brace of Calgary, then that day will come. On Saturday 22 February, the closing slalom of the Games is held, rather than on the "Face de Bellevarde" in Val d''Isère, on a decidedly simpler track like that of Les Menuires.
As will happen two years later in Lillehammer, Tomba concedes a lot, too much in the first heat of the slalom: the Bolognese is sixth, 1 "58 away from a Finn Christian Jagge who, however, is simply extraordinary starting with the bib number 9, seen that the Norwegian destroys the competition, with Michael Tritscher himself first chaser over the second behind.
In the decisive round the "Bomb" is unleashed, one by one all the rivals end up behind him, like the same Austrian then bronze at 18 cents from the Tomb, but Jagge will not be wrong, as a great champion who is becoming in that season. The Norwegian loses more than one second in the middle of the track, keeping 56 cents after the first steep, but he will not miss the courage on the final stretch to conclude with 28 cents of margin on the dominator of the technical disciplines. Certainly, that day the Italian fans shed bitter tears for the defeat of King Alberto, but they could only appreciate the class and sportiness of a great champion in the years to follow.
And today you can only cry and remember a ski giant.
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