2010 Olympic Skiing

The 2010 Olympic skiing events are quite varied, and no one country dominates. Alpine skiing involves downhill racing and technical slalom events. The biathlon combines guns and cross country skiing, and although it seems like the NRA member's dream, it is dominated by European countries. Cross-country skiers race across flat or hilly terrain. Freestyle skiers perform amazing tricks; a new freestyle event, ski cross, should make things lively for Vancouver. Nordic combined and ski jumping are currently only open to men, but that might not be for very much longer.

Alpine Skiing is a traditional Winter Olympic event. Men and Women compete in the same types of races. There are five different alpine skiing events per gender. A total of 30 medals will be awarded. The races that athletes will participate in include:

Downhill - The downhill race is based on one thing: speed. Racers will make one run down the course.

Super-G - Super G is the commonly used term for Super Giant Slalom. It combines the speed of a downhill course with the required maneuvering of a slalom course. As in downhill, racers only get one run down the course for the medal; however, unlike the downhill race, racers are not allowed practice runs on the course. They are allowed to inspect the course visually for one hour on the day of the race. Men will go through a minimum of 35 gates; women, 30. The Super-G was introduced to the Olympics in Calgary in 1988.

Giant Slalom - The giant slalom is meant to challenge athletes in the technical aspects of skiing. Skiers won't go through the course as fast, but they will be timed. There will be between 56 and 70 gates in the men's race, and 46-58 gates in the women's race. The giant slalom will be conducted in two runs.

Slalom - Like the giant slalom, the slalom is raced in two runs. Slalom gates are different than giant slalom gates, and the course is shorter.

Super Combined - The super combined event consists of one downhill run, and one slalom run. The times are combined, and the fastest skier wins.

Bode Miller has good days... and very bad days. In 2002, Miller received silver medals in the giant slalom and in combined. In 2006, he walked off with no medals. After the last season, he mentioned that "the fire goes away after a while." With Vancouver 2010 looming, nobody knew if he would try for the Olympics, or sit them out. In October, Miller made up his mind, and decided to re-join Team USA.

Miller can have good days. He can train hard. He can also party hard. The question is, does Miller still have the determination to even make it to the Olympics? Does he have the determination to succeed and medal? Miller could do well if he sets his mind to it, but nothing is for certain.

Photo by Timmyjimi.

In Torino, Anja Pärson won a gold medal in the slalom race, a bronze in downhill, and a bronze in the combined event. She's still a top skier, taking home world cup medals in several different events.

Anja has her own web site, where you can track her progress in her races and in her march to the Vancouver Olympics.

Photo by Christian Jansky.

A big name in the skiing world has been Austrian Hermann Maier, who took gold in both the Super G and the Giant slalom in the 1998 Nagano Olympics (after a spectacular crash a couple days prior), and a silver and a bronze in the Super G and Giant slalom in 2006 in Torino, respectively. He will not be competing in Vancouver. He announced his retirement on October 13th, 2009.

He missed the Salt Lake City Olympics in 2002 after he got into a car accident that nearly cost him his leg. He cited his health as the main reason that he would not compete for another season. He said that he was currently in good health, and wanted to keep it that way.

Photo by Christian Jansky.

The Biathlon combined cross-country skiing with rifle shooting. As the athletes race along the course, they will have stops along the way, where they need to shoot at five targets. They will stand at half of the targets, and be prone at the other half. They have five bullets to hit the five targets with. If they fail to hit the targets, they are assessed a penalty.

There will be five different biathlon events for both men and women. They include:

Men

Women

4x7.5 km Relay

4x6 km Relay

10 km Sprint

7.5 km Sprint

12.5 km Pursuit

10 km Pursuit

15 km Mass Start

12.5 km Mass Start

20 km Individual

15 km Individual

Illustration by Parutakupiu.

Ole Einar Bjørndalen is one of the biggest names in biathlon. This Norwegian dominated at the Salt Lake City Olympics when he took home four gold medals. He received three medals at Nagano, and earned one bronze and two silver medals in Torino. He earned four gold medals at the 2009 World Championships at Pyeongchang; will he continue to dominate?

He has a total of nine career medals. He could break some records in the 2010 Olympics if things go well for him. It is possible for other athletes to overtake him; he didn't earn all of the gold medals in 2006. He is someone to watch for, however.

Photo by vow.

Bjørndalen might have taken away all four gold medals in the 2002 winter games, but he'll have some competition from German biathlete Michael Greis in Vancouver, who earned the four gold medals in Torino.

Although Michael Greis took three gold medals in 2006, he hasn't been as dominant in the past three years. In 2009, he did take two bronzes in world championship competition. You can expect that Michael Greis will be someone to watch in the upcoming Olympics.

Photo by glawster.

Cross-Country is another 2010 Olympic skiing event. In cross country skiing, athletes propel themselves over the land on skis; unlike downhill skiing events, they don't have gravity to help propel them. There will be six cross-country skiing events for men, and six for women:

Men

Women

30 km Pursuit

15 km Pursuit

Individual Sprint Classic

Individual Sprint Classic

Team Sprint Free

Team Sprint Free

4x10 km Relay

4x5 km Relay

15 km Individual Free

10 km Individual Free

50 km Mass Start Classic

30 km Mass Start Classic

The two different styles of cross-country skiing are classic and free. Classic skiing uses a kicking and gliding motion. Free skiing looks almost like skating over the snow.

In a sport often dominated by the Europeans, Kikkan Randall is one of the best American skiers. She earned a silver medal in the individual sprint at the 2009 World Championships at Liberec, and performs well at the national level.

Vancouver was Randall's third Olympics. In Salt Lake City, she placed 44th in the individual sprint. In Torino, she placed ninth in the individual sprint, which was the best Olympic result ever for an American woman. In Vancouver, she helped team USA place sixth in the team sprint, and eighth in the individual sprint.

The 2010 Olympic Skiing events would be the first Olympic competition for Dario Cologna, who made his cross-country skiing world cup debut in November 2006, after Torino had already been completed. Since then, he placed second in a 30 km world cup event in December 2008, won the Tour de Ski in January 2009, and won the overall ranking for the 2008-09 world cup season.

He could make his home country of Switzerland proud.

Four freestyle skiiers have been named to the 2010 Olympic Team. Two are from Utah, one is from Washington, and the remaining skiier is from Vermont.

Aerial Olympians

Jeret "Speedy" Peterson - Jeret Peterson, originally from Idaho but now living in Park City, Utah, will head to his third Olympic games in 2010. In winning the trials, he also scored his third highest career score. In competing for the top spot, he did not perform his famous "hurricane" jump, which involves five twists and three flips. He will work on that move for the Olympics.

Lacy Scnoor - A native of Draper, Utah, Schnoor secured a spot in the aerial competition by performing a double full, full jump. This jump involves two flips, with two twists during the first flip, and one twist during the second flip. Schnoor started out as a gymnast, but became interested in aerials during middle school around the 2002 Olympic games. Vancouver will be Schnoor's first Olympic games.

Moguls

Patrick Deneen - Originally from Cle Elum, Washington, Patrick Deneen earned a spot on the 2010 Olympic team on December 23rd. His first time on skis was at 11 months old. Vancouver 2010 will be Deneen's first Olympic games.

Hannah Kearney - A native of Norwich, Vermont, Hannah Kearney has secured herself a position at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Vancouver will be her second time competing in an Olympic event - she placed 22nd in moguls in 2006 in the Torino Olympics.

The final spots will be decided after the results of the 2010 FIS Freestyle world cup, which will take place from January 14th to 17th, 2010.

Shannon Bahrke won a silver medal in the 2002 Olympics, but returned home from Torino with nothing but memories (she finished 10th).

At the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, Bahrke came in sixth after the first round, and thought that her chances for medalling were over. She did well in her second run, which allowed her to come in third for the bronze.

She has since announced her retirement from the sport.

In 2006, Ryan St. Onge made his Olympic debut with a 16th place finish in aerials. He has continued to hone his craft, and in 2009, won the Aerials event at the World Ski Championship.

Look for Ryan to do well in the 2010 Olympic Skiing competition.

Nordic Combined is currently a male-only sport. It is a combination of cross-country skiing and ski jumping. There will be three 2010 Olympic Skiing events in Nordic Combined:

• Individual Normal Hill Jump with a 10 km race
  
• Individual Large Hill Jump with a 10 km race
  
• Team Large Hill with a 4x5 km relay

Each competitor jumps one jump, which is judged based on distance and style. Athletes will jump first. The winner of the jump will leave on the ski race first. Athletes who score fewer points will leave later, based on the point difference between themselves and the winner of the jump. Whoever crosses the finish line first in the cross-country portion of the race will then win the event.

Illustration by Parutakupiu.

Felix Gottwald is an Austrian skier who won three medals in Nordic Combined in the 2006 Olympics. He took home a silver medal in the 15 km individual; and gold in the 4x5 km team relay and 7.5 km sprint events. He scored a bronze medal in each of those events in the Salt Lake City Olympics.

Gottwald retired in March 2007, but he decided to return to the sport to participate in the 2010 Olympic skiing event.

Anssi Koivuranta won a bronze medal in the 4 x 5 km team event at Torino, but he hasn't stopped there. In the 2008-09 World cup season, he walked away with 7 wins. This Finnish skier could be a force to reckon with, but he's got a little competition. Magnus Moan from Norway also earned 7 world cup wins in the previous season.

The next season of World Cup Competition begins in Kuusamo, Finland, on November 28th. We'll have to wait until then to see if Felix Gottwald makes an impact with his return to the sport, and whether American Bill Demong brings an American into one of the top spots in this normally Scandinavian-dominated sport.

Photo by The Rolling Camel.

There are three ski jumping events at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Only men will be competing, although women are suing to be included in the 2010 Olympics. Both genders will be competing in the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics, and women's events might be included in the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

Three competitions will be held:

• Individual Normal Hill
  
• Individual Large Hill
  
• Team Large Hill

Skiers aim to jump as far as possible. A K line is marked at the point that the average ski jumper will reach. Skiers will get 60 points for landing on the K line. For every meter they land after the K line, they will get 1.8 more points. For every meter that they fall short of the K line, they will lose 1.8 points. Judges will also award up to 20 points for style, based on how they land, their body position, and whether or not they can keep their skis steady while in midair.

Photo by Shay Haas.

Thomas Morgenstern was the ski jumper to beat in the 2006 Olympics. Out of the three ski jumping events, this Austrian won gold in both the individual large hill and team large hill events.

Since the 2006 Olympics, he has competed in the world championships, earning two gold medals in the team large hill event, and one bronze medal in the individual normal hill event. At the ski flying world championships, he was part of a gold medal winning team.

We'll see whether Morgenstern can repeat his extraordinary performance in Vancouver.

Photo under Creative Commons license. Author unknown.

Who knows whether or not Takanobu Okabe will end up placing in Vancouver, but at age 38, he won a bronze medal in the team large hill event. He helped the Japanese take home a gold medal in the team large hill event in Nagano, and helped them win the silver medal in the same event in Lillehammer.

On March 10, 2009, he won a world cup competition, and became the oldest individual to ever do so. If he makes it to Vancouver, he could end up breaking some records even if he doesn't win a gold medal. He may be interesting to watch even if only because of his age.

In Beijing, swimmers took home faster and faster world records due to the new LZR suit, which gave the athletes unprecedented aerodynamic ability. A new material might make things easier for skiers; it remains to be seen whether this new material will make changes to the sport like the LZR suit did.

This new material is available to Canadian and American skiers. The material is normally flexible, but upon impact, it hardens. It is as protective as the guards that slalom racers normally wear.

The material is called d30, and you can read more about it by visiting Engadget's review on the material.