The Albertville Games mark a turning point in winter sports. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Germany competes with a unified team. At the same time, elite sports lack the driving force of the Cold War: the politically charged duel between systems, in which medals were seen as proof of national superiority. Under these new circumstances, Germany made a sporting statement and led the medal table. The team benefited significantly from the performance of athletes who had been trained in the GDR: in speed skating, for example, they won all eleven medals. And of the ten Olympic victories, only two athletes whose careers began in the old Federal Republic of Germany are involved: luger Georg Hackl and Fritz Fischer, the anchorman of the biathlon relay team. In terms of sport, the Winter Games in Albertville represent a new beginning and new additions to the program: short track, freestyle skiing, and women's biathlon are represented as full disciplines for the first time. However, the Games are remembered above all as a commercially exploited event, consistently tailored to TV suitability. The competition venues were spread across the Savoy Alps, and new infrastructure was created in many places for this purpose. This gave a modern and professional impression, but at the same time seemed rather sober – with noticeable ecological consequences due to structural interventions in the mountain landscape and increasing traffic congestion. The ice hockey tournament provided pure drama: the quarter-final between Germany and Canada saw the first penalty shootout in Olympic history. Peter Draisaitl pushed the puck through the goalkeeper's pads, but the puck remained on the line – no goal, Germany was out.