The men's alpine skiing downhill event of the 1956 Winter Olympics at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, was held on Friday, 3 February, at 11:00 a.m. The starting elevation on the Olimpia - Tofana run was 2,282 m above sea level and the course length was 3.461 km, with a vertical drop of 902 m and just fifteen control gates. Wikipedia