# Alpine skiing at the 1956 Winter Olympics – Women's downhill

The women's downhill event of the 1956 Winter Olympics at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, was held on Mt. Tofana on Wednesday, 1 February.
The Swiss took the top two spots as Madeleine Berthod won the gold and Frieda Dänzer took the silver; Lucile Wheeler of Canada was the bronze medalist. Forty-four women from sixteen countries finished the race.
The race was held on the Canalone piste, with a starting elevation of 2,114 m (6,936 ft) above sea level with a vertical drop of 502 m (1,647 ft); the course length was 1.552 km (0.96 mi). Berthoud's winning time of 100.7 seconds yielded an average speed of 55.484 km/h (34.5 mph), with an average vertical descent rate of 4.985 m/s (16.4 ft/s).

## Results

Wednesday, 1 February 1956 The race was started at 11:30 local time, (UTC+1). At the starting gate, the skies were clear, the temperature was −8 °C (18 °F), and the snow condition was hard.
| Rank | Bib | Competitor | Time | Difference |
| | 6 | Madeleine Berthod (SUI) | 1:40.7 | — |
| | 20 | Frieda Dänzer (SUI) | 1:45.4 | +4.7 |
| | 4 | Lucile Wheeler (CAN) | 1:45.9 | +5.2 |
| 4 | 12 | Giuliana Chenal-Minuzzo (ITA) | 1:47.3 | +6.6 |
| 4 | 15 | Hilde Hofherr (AUT) | 1:47.3 | +6.6 |
| 6 | 1 | Carla Marchelli (ITA) | 1:47.7 | +7.0 |
| 7 | 21 | Dorothea Hochleitner (AUT) | 1:47.9 | +7.2 |
| 8 | 18 | Josette Nevière (FRA) | 1:49.2 | +8.5 |
| 9 | 7 | Borghild Niskin (NOR) | 1:49.5 | +8.8 |
| 10 | 28 | Gladys Werner (USA) | 1:49.6 | +8.9 |
| 11 | 26 | Anna Pellissier (ITA) | 1:49.7 | +9.0 |
| 12 | 22 | Trude Klecker (AUT) | 1:50.6 | +9.9 |
| 13 | 23 | Josefine Frandl (AUT) | 1:51.0 | +10.3 |
| 14 | 51 | Aleksandra Artyomenko (URS) | 1:51.1 | +10.4 |
| 15 | 30 | Eivor Berglund (SWE) | 1:51.6 | +10.9 |
| 15 | 32 | Rosmarie Reichenbach (SUI) | 1:51.6 | +10.9 |
| 17 | 10 | Barbara Grocholska (POL) | 1:51.7 | +11.0 |
| 18 | 29 | Ingrid Englund (SWE) | 1:51.8 | +11.1 |
| 19 | 11 | Maria Kowalska (POL) | 1:51.9 | +11.2 |
| 20 | 16 | Ossi Reichert (EUA) | 1:52.3 | +11.6 |
| 21 | 14 | Marysette Agnel (FRA) | 1:52.4 | +11.7 |
| 22 | 37 | Anne Heggtveit (CAN) | 1:53.2 | +12.5 |
| 22 | 31 | Carlyn Kruger (CAN) | 1:53.2 | +12.5 |
| 24 | 25 | Madeleine Front (FRA) | 1:53.6 | +12.9 |
| 25 | 2 | Hedi Beeler (SUI) | 1:54.0 | +13.3 |
| 26 | 39 | Inger Jorgensen (NOR) | 1:54.3 | +13.6 |
| 27 | 9 | Astrid Sandvik (NOR) | 1:54.4 | +13.7 |
| 28 | 41 | Slava Zupančič (YUG) | 1:54.5 | +13.8 |
| 29 | 13 | Hannelore Glaser (EUA) | 1:54.7 | +14.0 |
| 30 | 5 | Andrea Mead Lawrence (USA) | 1:55.2 | +14.5 |
| 31 | 52 | Jakobína Jakobsdóttir (ISL) | 1:57.2 | +16.5 |
| 32 | 19 | Sonja Sperl (EUA) | 1:57.8 | +17.1 |
| 33 | 53 | Ginette Seguin (CAN) | 1:58.2 | +17.5 |
| 34 | 47 | Penny Pitou (USA) | 1:58.9 | +18.2 |
| 35 | 50 | Zandra Nowell (GBR) | 1:59.0 | +18.3 |
| 36 | 40 | Vera Schenone (ITA) | 1:59.2 | +18.5 |
| 37 | 17 | Yevgenya Sidorova (URS) | 1:59.8 | +19.1 |
| 38 | 55 | Dorothy Surgenor (USA) | 2:01.5 | +20.8 |
| 39 | 54 | Christine Davy (AUS) | 2:01.6 | +20.9 |
| 40 | 46 | Magdalena Marotineanu (ROM) | 2:04.0 | +23.3 |
| 41 | 49 | Renate Holmes (GBR) | 2:05.0 | +24.3 |
| 42 | 38 | Vivi-Anne Wassdahl (SWE) | 2:08.0 | +27.3 |
| 43 | 45 | Jeanne Sandford (GBR) | 2:15.1 | +34.4 |
| 44 | 48 | Elena Epuran (ROM) | 2:27.7 | +47.0 |
| — | 3 | Edith Bonlieu (FRA) | INJ | |
| — | 8 | Mirl Buchner (EUA) | INJ | |
| — | 33 | Maria Gąsienica Daniel-Szatkowska (POL) | INJ | |
Source: