Ads from the Past: Lange's Grenoble Medals, 1968

This two-page ad ran in the October 1968 issue of Skiing magazine. Styled to look like a news report from the Grenoble Winter Games, it touts that athletes using Lange’s new Competition ski boot won five medals at the Olympics. Amateur rules then in effect forbade athlete endorsements, so Lange couldn’t identify the champion skiers.

Those five medals were won by three athletes, with Canadian Nancy Greene winning three herself: gold in giant slalom, silver in slalom and the FIS gold medal in combined. Then there were two Swiss men: Willy Favre, who won silver in giant slalom, and Jean-Daniel Dätwyler, who garnered bronze in downhill.

In addition, Favre won the FIS silver medal in combined, a victory overlooked by Lange at the time.

For perspective, French skiers, in French boots, won 10 medals, including four in FIS combined. Austrians, in Austrian boots, won six medals, including one in FIS combined.

Lange was forbidden to use athlete photos, but it did run a photo of the Lange staff at Grenoble. According to the caption, they were (left to right) Jim Simonson, Dave Jacobs (see page 30), Jim Tobin, Terry Fletcher, Vern Anderson and Bob Lange. 

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