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No sport defines the Winter Games quite like Alpine skiing: The snow,
the speed, the daring of the downhill, the precision of the slalom. The
10 events that make up the competition -- five each for men and women --
are the most closely watched of any Olympics events.
Is there any other single competition in the Olympics that can match the
breathtaking beauty of the downhill? One run down the course, fastest
time wins.
The slalom is about turns -- quick cuts around gates on a steep course.
There are two timed runs, with the winner the one with the lowest
combined time over the two different courses. Actually, the hill is the
same, but the gates are changed so the course is different from one run
to the next. There are 55-75 gates on the men's course, 40-60 for women.
The giant slalom also consists of two runs, but the course is a bit
longer than the regular slalom -- that's why it's called the giant
slalom -- and it's a little less congested. There are between 56-70
gates for men, and 46-58 for women. The idea here is more speed .
The Super G, kind of a downhill and giant slalom mix, is one run with
the fastest time winning. But with a minimum of 30 gates for women and
35 for men, the stress here is on making the smartest run while hitting
all the gates.
The combined event features both a downhill race and a slalom, with the
lowest combined time taking the gold. To get to the finals, though, a
skier must get through two slalom runs and a downhill.
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