Alpine skiing

The sport of Alpine skiing was created in the late 19th century when Norwegian legend Sondre Norheim made skis popular. The sport made its Olympic debut at the Olympic Winter Games Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936 with the combined (downhill + slalom) event for both men and women. In 1948, downhill and slalom races were added as separate events. The giant slalom was introduced at Oslo 1952 and the super-G at Calgary 1988.

At Milano Cortina 2026, the Alpine skiing events will include speed events like downhill and super-G, technical events like slalom and giant slalom, and a mixed event, the Alpine combined (a mix of speed and technique).

Speed events

Downhill, like super-G, has long courses that take more than a minute and a half to complete, with large distances between the gates. This leads to the fastest speeds in Alpine skiing. Athletes can practise and test the track and ideal paths in timed training sessions before the race.

Super-G, also known as super-giant slalom, is the second fastest event in Alpine skiing and one of the most recent. It was introduced by the International Ski Federation (FIS) in 1982. The race follows a course lined with pairs of gates. Skiers are disqualified if they miss even a single gate during the descent. Compared to the other two slalom disciplines, super-giant slalom has much wider turns and is therefore skied at higher speeds. In fact, it is raced on the same slopes used for the downhill event.

The downhill and super-G races are held in one round. In both races, the winner is determined by the fastest time.

Technical events

Special slalom (or just slalom) is the shortest Alpine ski race, with athletes typically finishing in a time of 50-60 seconds and the most number of turns. Skiers have to ski down a course, weaving through a series of poles set up in quick succession until they reach the finish line. In slalom, skiers have to touch the poles as they pass through them, so they wear special protection on their hands, legs, and face. The slalom race consists of two runs on the same slope but on different courses. The winner is the skier with the shortest combined time from both runs. The starting order in the second run is the opposite of the qualifying run for the first 30 (the first to start is therefore the 30th in rank), while the 31st and up follow the ranking of the first run. The one with the shortest total time of the two runs is the winner.

Giant slalom is a race with an average distance of 20-30 metres between the curves, and takes about one to one and a half minutes to complete. The track has wider curves compared to the special slalom, and the gates are used to mark the course instead of poles. It doesn't require as many safety protections because the gates are hit less often. The race is split into two runs on the same slope but on different tracks, with all athletes who finish the first run participating in the second. The starting order in the second run is the opposite of the qualifying run for the first 30 (the first to start is therefore the 30th in rank), while the 31st and up follow the ranking of the first run. The skier with the shortest total time of the two runs is the winner.

Team combined

The Alpine combined event sees two athletes representing the same country race in one discipline each (downhill and slalom) The final ranking is determined by adding the times from both races.