A total of 81 athletes contested the downhill on 16 February at Norefjell. Miliordos was one of nine competitors to be disqualified from the event during the run. The gold medal in the event was won by Italian skier Zeno Colò who was the reigning world champion in the event having taken gold at the 1950 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Aspen; Austrians Othmar Schneider and Christian Pravda took silver and bronze respectively.