On 19 February 1998, Hermann Maier finished what he had started in Nagano. Gold in the men's giant slalom at Shiga Kogen sealed an Olympic double. Three days earlier he had won the super-G.
Austria one-two, and Maier out in front
Maier stopped the clock at a combined 2:38.51 across two runs. Teammate Stephan Eberharter took silver, 0.85 seconds back, with Switzerland's Michael von Grünigen third for an Austrian one-two.
The field of 62 skiers from 28 nations thinned quickly. Von Grünigen arrived as reigning world champion, yet could not close the gap. A fourth Austrian, Hans Knauss, finished just off the podium in fourth.
The favourites fell away early. Two-time Olympic champion Alberto Tomba, whom Maier now succeeded, crashed 17 seconds into the first leg. Norway's Kjetil André Aamodt and the young American Bode Miller also failed to finish the opening run.
A second gold, days after the crash that made him famous
These two Nagano titles remain Maier's only Olympic golds. They came in a week that began with a downhill crash on 13 February, when he flew off course, landed partly on his head and tore through two layers of safety netting. He walked away, then won twice.
The same season brought the overall World Cup title, plus the super-G and giant slalom crowns. Maier would close a 13-year career with 54 World Cup wins, third-most among men at the time, and 14 of them in giant slalom.
Nagano set the tone for everything that followed, through injury, comeback and a second Olympics in Turin. It was the week the crash and the double made him known worldwide.
