Featuring athletes such as Mikaela Shiffrin and Lindsey Vonn, alpine skiing is one of the most heavily anticipated events during the Winter Olympic Games. The sport made its debut at the 1936 games with Austria leading the overall and gold medal counts. Alpine skiing involves athletes turning through gates as they race down the course.
Here are more key facts about alpine skiing at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
When and where will alpine skiing take place in the 2026 Winter Olympics?
Alpine skiing will take place in two different locations. The Stelvio Ski Centre in Bormio will host the men’s competitions, and the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre in Cortina d’Ampezzo will be home to the women’s competitions. The various events will run from Feb 7-18.
What are the two event types in alpine skiing?
Alpine skiing consists of technical events and speed events. The technical events have an emphasis on turn technique because of the shorter courses and less distance between the race gates. Speed events take place on longer courses with more distance between gates allowing athletes to generate more speed during the race. Athletes who specialize in speed events are generally taller and heavier and must have great leg strength to be successful in these races. They also race on longer skies.
What are the various alpine skiing events?
Both men and women compete in the downhill, super-G, slalom and giant slalom.
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Speed Events: Downhill and super-G are the two speed events. In these events, each athlete races once and the quickest time determines the winner. Skiers can reach up to 80 miles per hour during these races. One difference between downhill and super-G is that the course for super-G is shorter, resulting in more frequent turns and more technical elements despite it being a speed event.
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Technical Events: The slalom and giant slalom are the two technical events. Each athlete gets two runs in these events and the skier with the fastest total time is the winner. Since these are more turns focused events, skiers reach speeds of up to 40-50 miles per hour. The slalom, being the shortest course at roughly 120-230 meters shorter than the giant slalom, features the most gates out of any of the alpine skiing disciplines.
There is also a men’s and women’s team combined event in which each skier from a team of two races one of the following disciplines, downhill (a speed event) and slalom (a technical event). The team with the fastest total time is the winner. The team combined event is new to the 2026 Olympics replacing the individual combined event.
What are the gate rules for alpine skiing races?
If a skier misses a gate during a run, they must hike back through the missed gate to reenter it if they wish to continue the race. Otherwise, the athlete will receive a “Did Not Finish” or “Disqualified” designation for the run.
Who qualified to compete for Team USA in 2026?
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Women: Mikaela Shiffrin, Lindsey Vonn, Paula Moltzan, Nina O’Brien
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Men: Ryan Cochran-Siegle, River Radamus
Check out the ESPN Olympics hub page for more updates on related events.
