Winter Olympics News » Slalom

Italy’s 1st gold of the games

Sherry — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 03:14:32 +0000

Guiliano Razzoli was the last skier down the mountain. Ivica Kostelic of Croatia waited at the bottom, hoping his combined time of 1:39.48 would get him gold. Olympic gold medalist and bon vivant Alberto Tomba also waited with obvious tense nerves. He had advised his friend and student to approach today’s slalom differently, and worried Italy would not get the gold medal it hasn’t seen since his 30 years ago.

Razzoli delivered, beating Kostelic by .16 seconds. Tomba roared with delight and hugged Razzoli tightly. I wonder if Razzoli takes after Tomba in his social side? There are still stories floating around about the wild nights he spent celebrating in Calgary.

Andre Myhrer of Sweden is bringing home the bronze, also a milepost for Sweden. This is the first medal for the country in Alpine skiing in 22 years.

Bode Miller missed a gate in his first run, disqualifying him from the competition. Ted Ligety also skied out, leaving the US with no contenders.

More sloppy weather for women’s snowboarding & skiing

Sherry — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 06:13:09 +0000

Women’s Parallel Giant Snowboard Slalom was closer to surfing than snowboarding today. It was wet, wet, wet, and there were tons of wipeouts. But through it all Nicolien Sauerbreij of the Netherlands managed to make it down the hill all ten runs in one piece and with the best final time, winning the first gold in snowboarding for the Dutch. Marion Kreiner of Austria finished with silver, Ekaterina Ilyukhina of Russia, bronze.

That nasty fog and wet snow continued for the women trying to compete in the slalom. The fog cut visibility so much it was tough for us to see the skiers, let alone them the narrow poles they had to navigate. The comment was made that they were almost forced to ski by feel and memory alone. The wet snow and warmer weather made the course rough and very difficult to navigate.

Maria Reisch of Germany got her second gold of the games, handling the tough conditions with great control. It was bittersweet for the skier, as her sister was unable to finish the course and join her in victory. Marlies Schild of Austria finished second, Sarka Zahrobska of the Czech Republic, third.

US favorite Lindsey Vonn was unable to finish, but didn’t seem too upset since she’s still bringing home two medals this year.

What are all these Alpine Skiing events?

Jill Manty — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 17:32:04 +0000

Alpine skiing has so many variations: downhill, Super-G, Giant Slalom, Slalom and Super Combined. If you’re not a skier, this can be confusing.

Downhill is the longest, fastest race. There is a path that skiers need to stay on, but it doesn’t require the precision of slalom. Speeds reach about 90 mph.

Slalom is a relatively short race. It features sharp turns around flags, requiring speed and agility. This is a two-run race. Many skiers get disqualified by missing gates.

Giant slalom is a longer version of slalom. The turns are not quite as tight. This is also a two-run race.

Super G (short for super giant slalom) is a longer, faster version of Giant slalom. It’s a relatively new Olympic event, debuting in 1988. There are no training runs on Super G.

Re-introduced in 1988, Super Combined combines one downhill race with one slalom run. The fastest combined time wins.

Lindsey Vonn may be out for the 2010 Olympics

Jill Manty — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 15:00:15 +0000

Lindsey Vonn, one of the most successful female downhill skiers for the U.S., appears to have broken her arm during the Women’s World Cup giant Slalom, in Lienz, Austria, Monday, Dec. 28, 2009. She was heading into this competition in first place in the World Cup standings. Vonn was considered a threat to medal in all five downhill events. While she has competed in the past two winter Olympics, she has yet to win a medal. This video shows the crash.

You can find out more about Lindsey and keep up with her on her website.

Update: We are happy to report that Lindsey’s arm is just badly bruised, and it looks like her Olympic hopes are alive and well.