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Where does the term “slalom” come from?
The origins of competitive skiing go back to 19thcentury Norway, where contests included cross country, ski jumping and slalom, which roughly means a track on a smooth and slanting hill. Slalom became a generic term for downhill races there, but Norway remained more focused on nordic skiing (cross country and ski jumping) while St. Anton, Austria, became the cradle of alpine skiing — otherwise known as downhill skiing — which now consists of slalom, giant slalom, super-G and downhill. How fast do they go in downhill?
Ski racers routinely top out at speeds that will get you ticketed on interstate highways. The top speed this year at the famed downhill at Kitzbuehel, Austria, was 87 mph, and speeds at Wengen, Switzerland, exceeded 90 mph. Speeds vary from venue to venue, though. When the men raced downhill on the PyeongChang course in 2016, the top speed was 71 mph. When the women raced there last year, Vail’s Lindsey Vonn posted the top speed of 61 mph. She finished second in that race to Italy’s Sofia Goggia by 0.07 of a second. In alpine racing, what’s the difference between technical races and speed races?
The technical races are slalom and giant slalom; they involve more turns and, as a result, slower speeds than the speed races. The speed races are downhill (highest speeds, fewest turns) and super-G (more turns with slower speeds than downhill, but faster than giant slalom). Oh, and you don’t want to say “giant slalom.” You want to call it GS. How do they decide who races?
In alpine racing, making the Olympic team doesn’t guarantee a racer will get to compete. Each country can enter only four racers in each alpine event, which is fewer than they typically get on the World Cup. Teams sometimes use downhill training at the Olympic venue as time trials to make decisions about the last spot or two, because downhill training results can indicate which racer is better suited to the course. Alice McKennis of Glenwood Springs is ranked fifth among the U.S. women downhillers, but if Mikaela Shiffrin elects not to race downhill, her spot could go to McKennis. McKennis would appear to be in good shape for the superG, but coaches still make the decision on who races.