[1][2][3] Originally scheduled for Sunday, the race was postponed several times due to heavy snow, followed by rain and gusty winds.

France's Jean-Luc Crétier won the gold medal, Lasse Kjus of Norway took the silver, and the bronze medalist was Hannes Trinkl of Austria; Moe was twelfth and Kernan did not finish.

[6] Nine of the first twenty failed to finish, including a crash by favorite Hermann Maier of Austria, which he walked away from.

[6][7] Luca Cattaneo's injury caused a half-hour delay underneath the clear skies, as the temperature at the finish approached 15 °C (59 °F).

It was the sole victory of Crétier's career; he had five World cup podiums, three of which were in the two months preceding the Olympics, at the notable venues of Beaver Creek, Wengen, and Kitzbühel.