They're here! The Winter Olympics of 2018 in PyeongChang (pronounced "pee-yung-chong"). Here's what you need to know.
Heading into the Olympic Winter games, there's a lot of buzz about the potential from the US Ski Team. Big names like Mikaela Shiffrin, Ted Ligety and Lindsay Vonn are favored to medal in their events .The action is set to go down within the PyeongChang Mountain Cluster which includes the Jeongseon Alpine Center for the men's and women's downhill, super-G and alpine combined and at the Yongpyong Alpine Center for the men's and women's slalom and giant slalom.
Key terms: What are all the differences in the alpine events? I know, it can be confusing to try and figure out. Here's what it all means to set the record straight.
Combined: It's just what it sounds like: a combination of downhill and slalom. It consists of one downhill run, followed by one slalom run. In the Olympics, the runs that go toward the alpine combined competition are on different courses from those used in the downhill and slalom competitions. The alpine combined courses are often smaller and less demanding than the downhill and slalom courses. Both runs are done in a single day, and the skier with the quickest aggregate time is the winner.
Downhill: This is a speed event composed of one run her athlete. It is the longest course, on a steep run and one with the highest speeds (I'm talking up to 85mph!). The vertical drop on downhill courses is 800-1100m for men and 500-800m for women. In this competition, there are no barriers that you have to go around and no jumps you have to make; just one goal: get down the fastest and stay within the lines of the course.
Giant Slalom: This is a technical event with two runs per athlete. It is similar to the slalom, but there are more gates that are closer together which result in slower speeds. Thus, it is considered a technical event. In the men's, there are typically anywhere between 55-70 gates, while the women's event features roughly 46-58 gates. the distance between gates is shorter than in downhill and super-G.
Slalom: This is a technical event with two runs per athlete. It is the shortest course, but has the quickest turns. It's technically the opposite of the downhill event. There are approximately 55 and 75 gates for men and 45 to 65 for women on each run. The winner is the skier with the fastest aggregate time of the two runs. This is also the event where you see skiers knocking over gates with their forearm as they pass through, allowing them to get their skis as close as possible to the base of the pole.
Super-G AKA Super Giant Slalom: This is a speed event composed of one run per athlete. It combines the speed of downhill with the more frequent turns seen in giant slalom. There are widely-set gates that allow skiers to maintain high speeds throughout the run. However, the courses do require the skier to make sharper and more frequent turns than in the downhill. The super-G is often run on the same slope as the downhill, though from a lower starting point. The course is shorter than downhill, but longer than giant slalom. The winner is the racer who passes through all course gates and crosses the finish line in the quickest time. Fun fact: if a skier misses a gate, they are allowed to hike back up to make it through the gate before continuing on the course...although this almost never happens.
Team: This is a brand new Olympic event that sounds pretty exciting to watch for me. It originally debuted at the 2005 World Championships in Italy but has never been an Olympic event. Teams consist of four skiers from the same country—two men and two women. They will face off in parallel slalom races against each other, meaning there will be two skiers racing each other simultaneously, side-by-side. Times are irrelevant; the skier who crosses the finish line first is declared the winner. If one or both competitors fall, the skier who made it further down is declared the winner.
Also important to note, in every event the skiers select their starting position with a complex formula using the skiers' world ranking points determining the order they choose in. The top-ranked skier gets to decide first, with their choices being based on weather and course conditions.
photo from BBC Sport
U.S.A. Athletes to watch:
Mikaela Shiffrin. (@mikaelashiffrin) Hailing from Eagle-Vail, Colorado and attending the Burke Mountain Academy in Vermont, Mikaela was the youngest athlete in history to win an Olympic slalom gold medal in the 2014 Olympics. She's favored to win the slalom gold again this year. She's been on the US Ski Team for 7 years and is currently skiing on Atomic skis - my personal favorite!. I'm not going to lie - she's my favorite skier and I'll be rooting for her in every event. She's getting better at speed events and is one to look out for in the super-G as well.
Lindsey Vonn. (@lindseyvonn) Another world-class athlete born and raised in Vail, Colorado. She's been on the team for 16 years and is skiing on Head skis. She's also the winningest female ski racer of all time and has most recently medaled in downhill and super-G in the 2010 Olympics. She was forced to sit the 2014 Olympics out due to a knee injury, but this year she's back and better than ever. She recently won her last two World Cup races, making it her 80th and 81st wins. Keep an eye on her during her events: she's got her eye on the prize.
Laurenne Ross. (@lalalaurenne) From Bend, Oregon, Ross suffered an extensive knee injury at the US Alpine Championships in 2017 and was unsure if she would be back to racing. But she sacrificed her summer to focus on rehab and just eight months after her injury and in her second start back, she finished eighth in the super-G in Val d’Isere at the world cup. She's been on the team for 8 years and currently skis on Volkl skis - another personal favorite! She has all top-30 finishes in every world cup during the 2018 season so she is going into PyeongChang with consistency and confidence. Make sure to root her on..she deserves a medal!
Ted Ligety. (@ted_ligety) Growing up in Park City, Utah, Ligety was born to be a racer. He's been on the team for 15 years and currently skis on Head skis. He's nicknamed 'Mr. GS' after redefining the giant slalom discipline. He's a two-time Olympic gold medalist and the first American to win two gold medals in alpine skiing. His Olympic giant slalom gold medal, 24 GS World Cup wins, 3 GS world championship gold medals and 5 World Cup titles make him one of the greatest giant slalom skiers of all time.
Bryce Bennett. (@brycebennett) He's quite possibly the tallest in the sport at a towering 6'7". He's ranked 14th in the alpine combined and 18th in downhill standings in the world, making him a great contender for the Olympic Winter games this year. He's been on the team for 7 years and skis on Fischer skis. He has nine top-30 performances in 2018, highlighted by two top-15 performances. Although this is his first Olympic games, he's shown promise and should be watched carefully.
Andrew Weibrecht. (@andrew_weibrecht) A man from the 'east'! (Lake Placid, NY) Weibrecht is a two time Olympic medalist for the super-G. He's been on the team for 7 years and skis on Head skis. He's a great technical skier and one to watch this year! Plus, gotta root for the few from the east coast! His medals are currently on display at his parents' family owned hotel across the street from their restaurant, Cottage Cafe.
Schedule of events:
Saturday, 2/10/18. 9:00-11:05pm EST - Men's Downhill **RESCHEDULED due to high winds** New date and time: Wednesday, 2/14/18 9:00pm EST
Sunday, 2/11/18. 8:15-9:55pm EST - Women's Giant Slalom Run 1
11:45pm-1:35am EST - Women's Giant Slalom Run 2 **RESCHEDULED due to high winds** New date and time: Wednesday, 2/14/18 7:30pm and 11:15pm EST
Monday, 2/12/18. 9:30-11:10pm EST - Men's Combined Run 1
1:00-2:25am EST - Men's Combined Run 2
*RESULTS, Mens Alpine Combined:
Gold: Thomas Dressen (Germany); 1:19.24
Silver: Kjetil Jansrud (Norway); 1:19.51
Bronze: Christof Innerhofer (Italy); 1:19.77
Tuesday, 2/13/18. 8:45-9:50pm EST - Women's Slalom Run 1
11:45pm-1:25am EST - Women's Slalom Run 2 **RESCHEDULED due to high winds** New date and time: Thursday, time known
Wednesday, 2/14/18. **two events** 8:00pm EST - Women's Giant Slalom Run 1
9:30pm EST - Men's Downhill
*RESULTS, Mens Downhill:
Gold: Aksel Lund Svindal (Norway); 1:40.25
Silver: Kjetil Jansrud (Norway); 1:40.37
Bronze: Beat Feuz (Switzerland); 1:40.43
11:45pm EST - Women's Giant Slalom Run 2
*RESULTS, Womens Giant Slalom:
Gold: Mikaela Shiffrin (USA); 2:20.02
Silver: Ragnhild Mowinckel (Norway); 2:20.41
Bronze: Federica Bringnone (Italy); 2:20.48
Thursday, 2/15/18. 9:00pm EST - Men's Super-G
TIME UNKNOWN: Women's Slalom
Friday, 2/16/18. 9:00-10:55pm EST - Women's Super-G
Saturday, 2/17/18. 8:15-10:10pm EST - Men's Giant Slalom Run 1
11:45pm-1:45am EST - Men's Giant Slalom Run 2
Tuesday, 2/20/18. 9:00-10:50pm EST - Women's Downhill
Wednesday, 2/21/18. 8:15-10:20pm EST - Men's Slalom Run 1
11:45pm-1:40am EST - Men's Slalom Run 2
Thursday, 2/22/18. 9:00-10:25pm EST - Women's Combined Run 1
12:30-1:45am EST - Women's Combined Run 2
Friday, 2/23/18. 9:00-10:55pm EST - Team Event
And for a guide on how to pronounce all the Korean words, like the venue names for all the Olympic Winter games, check this out.
Now, Good luck to all the athletes and .... let's go team U.S.A!!
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