Winter Olympics preview: Alpine Skiing
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History
The first Winter Olympics, held in 1924, included nordic skiing, but alpine wasn’t officially added until 1936 with only two events: The combined downhill and slalom for both men and women. Since 1988, alpine has featured ten events, and has come to be considered one of the marquee sports of the Winter Games. Over the years, Austria has emerged as a powerhouse, winning almost twice as many medals (105) as its nearest competitor, Switzerland (56).
Events
Men’s and women’s Downhill, Super G, Giant Slalom, Slalom, Super Combined.
Venue: Rosa Khutor Alpine Resort
Located 25 miles (40 kilometers) from the Black Sea, the Rosa Khutor Alpine Resort sits along the Abiga Ridge near Krasnaya Polyana. Similar in base and summit elevation to Whistler, we can expect conditions for the alpine events in Russia to be similar to the Vancouver Olympics. Both ski hills are also located a similar distance from a large body of water.
The Top Story
Lindsey Vonn will not be competing in the Olympics. After reconstructive surgery on her right knee in February 2013, and a series of related setbacks, Vonn had to pull out of the downhill race in Russia. Whatever will we do with ourselves, now?
Five Names To Remember
Mikaela Shiffrin (United States) - Giant Slalom, Slalom: America is going to fall so head-over-heels for 18-year-old Mikaela Shifftin that Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Upton will be asking where everyone went.
Aksel Lund Svindel (Norway) - Downhill, Super G, Giant Slalom, Super Combined: Winning gold, silver and bronze at the Vancouver Olympics, Svindel is as brilliant as he is versatile. Over the course of his career, he has 25 wins on the World Cup circuit in four different events.
Marcel Hirscher (Austria) - Giant Slalom, Slalom: The reigning overall World Cup title holder, Hirscher finished on the podium in 18 of the 2013’s 19 Giant Slalom and Slalom events.
Anna Fenninger (Austria) - Downhill, Super G, Giant Slalom: An incredibly versatile racer who competes at all events, Fenninger already has podium finishes this season in Downhill, Super G and Giant Slalom.
Ted Ligety (United States) - Super G, Giant Slalom, Super Combined: Winner of the Giant Slalom overall title in four of the last six seasons, Ligety saved his greatest performance for last season’s World Championships where he walked away with gold, not only in Giant Slalom, but also in the Super G and Combined events.
Three Terms You Need To Know
Angulation: The action it takes to edge the ski and remain balanced on the edged ski. Refers to your body's relative position to your skis. For example, a skier wants a lot of angulation when going through turns.
Countering: Balancing the upper body to the reactions of the lower body when turning or edging. In this position, a skiers shoulders become level and the upper body points downhill over the outside ski, aiming toward the outside of a turn.
Traverse: Skiing straight across the hill from one side of a slope to the other, or the space between slopes.
Previews for each individual event below.