It was the final alpine event of the games and the third straight victory for Toni Sailer of Austria.[1] His average speed was 72.355 km/h (45.0 mph), with an average vertical descent rate of 5.238 m/s (17.2 ft/s).
It was the third appearance of the downhill event at the Winter Games, which debuted in 1948. Seventy-five alpine skiers from 27 nations competed.[2]