Costa Rica at the 1980 Winter Olympics

Costa Rica sent a delegation to compete at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, United States from 13–24 February 1980. This was Costa Rica's debut appearance at a Winter Olympic Games, after five prior appearances at Summer Olympics. The only athlete sent by the country was alpine skier Arturo Kinch. In the only event he finished, the men's downhill, he placed 41st.

Costa Rica at the
1980 Winter Olympics
IOC codeCRC
NOCComité Olímpico de Costa Rica
Websitewww.concrc.org (in Spanish)
in Lake Placid
Competitors1 (man) in 1 sport
Medals
Gold
0
Silver
0
Bronze
0
Total
0
Winter Olympics appearances (overview)

Background

The Comité Olímpico Nacional de Costa Rica was recognized by the International Olympic Committee on 31 December 1935,[1] and Costa Rica first joined Olympic competition at the 1936 Summer Olympics.[2] After that, the nation did not return to Summer Olympic competition until the 1964 Summer Olympics, and have competed in every Summer Olympics since.[2] These Lake Placid Olympics were Costa Rica's first appearance at a Winter Olympic Games.[2] The 1980 Winter Olympics were held from 13–24 February 1980; a total of 1,072 athletes participated, representing 37 National Olympic Committees.[3] Arturo Kinch was the only athlete selected by Costa Rica for these Olympics.[4] He was selected as the flag bearer for the opening ceremony.[2]

Alpine skiing
Main article: Alpine skiing at the 1980 Winter Olympics

Arturo Kinch was 23 years old at the time of the Lake Placid Olympics.[5] In his youth Kinch was a soccer player, who moved to Colorado for college.[6] After using skiing as a way to keep fit between soccer seasons, he decided to file paperwork to create a Costa Rican ski federation, a process that took two years.[6] On 14 February, he took part in the downhill, and finished the race in 2 minutes and 12.24 seconds.[7] This was good for 41st place, his best finish in a career that would eventually span five Olympics.[6] In the downhill, the gold medal was won by Leonhard Stock of Austria, the silver was taken by his compatriot Peter Wirnsberger, and the bronze was won by Canadian Steve Podborski.[7] On 18 February, Kinch participated in the giant slalom, but failed to finish the first run.[8] Kinch also took part in the slalom held on 22 February, but he again failed to complete the first run.[9]

Athlete Event Race 1 Race 2 Total
Time Rank Time Rank Time Rank
Arturo Kinch Downhill 2:12.24 41
Giant slalom DNF – – – DNF –
Slalom DNF – – – DNF –

See also

References
  1. "Costa Rica – National Olympic Committee (NOC)". International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 18 July 2017. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  2. "Costa Rica". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 3 July 2017. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  3. "1980 Olympics - Winter Olympic Games". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  4. "Costa Rica at the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Games". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 25 July 2017. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  5. "Arturo Kinch Bio, Stats, and Results". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 29 July 2017. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  6. Araton, Harvey (18 February 2006). "An Olympic Relic Feels Like a Winner for Making It Home". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 21 June 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  7. "Alpine Skiing at the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Games: Men's Downhill". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 13 February 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  8. "Alpine Skiing at the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Games: Men's Giant Slalom Run 1". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 6 July 2017. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  9. "Alpine Skiing at the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Games: Men's Slalom Run 1". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 6 July 2017. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
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