Alpine skiing has been contested at every Winter Games since the men's and women's combined were held at the 1936 Games at Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Germany.
There are ten events on the 2010 Olympic program, five each for men and women. The only change from 2006 is that the combined event will have one slalom run, down from two, in an event called the Super Combined.
Men: Downhill, Super-G, Giant Slalom, Slalom, Super Combined
Women: Downhill, Super-G, Giant Slalom, Slalom, Super Combined
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Venue: Whistler Creekside, one of two bases for Whistler Mountain, will host both men's and women's Alpine events at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. The men's (named the Dave Murray Downhill) and women's (named Franz's Run) downhill courses lie parallel on Whistler Mountain. Venue capacity is 7,600.
Whistler hosted men's Super-G and Giant Slalom, and women's Downhill and Super Combined (Super-G and Slalom) World Cup events in February 2008.
Bode Miller hooks a slalom gate and is eliminated from the combined.
Torino recap (men)
U.S. skiers had mixed results, a soft-spoken Austrian captured the technical double, and an ageless Norwegian proved that "the Herminator" could be defeated. Coming off an overall World Cup title and two gold medals at the previous year's World Championships, expectations were high for Bode Miller. However, he left Sestriere without a medal but plenty of scorn. The American bright spot on the men's side turned out to be 21-year-old Ted "Shred" Ligety, who won the combined event in surprising fashion. Austria's Benjamin Raich became the first skier since Alberto Tomba (1988) to win both the slalom and giant slalom events. Kjetil Andre Aamodt, competing in his fifth Olympic Games at age 34, picked up his fourth career gold medal (and record eighth medal overall), edging Austria's Hermann Maier by 0.13 seconds in the Super-G.
Torino recap (women)
Another U.S. skier became a surprise Olympic champion, an Austrian made history and the Alpine star from the Salt Lake Games proved she still had it in her. Julia Mancuso picked the perfect stage to capture her first major international competition by winning the giant slalom on a foggy day in Sestriere. At the medal ceremony, she donned the good-luck tiara that has become her personal symbol. Austrian Michaela Dorfmeister became the first skier, male or female, to sweep the speed events (the downhill and Super-G). Croatia's flag bearer at the Opening Ceremony, Janica Kostelic, finished her illustrious Olympic career with six medals by defending her gold in the combined and taking silver in the Super-G.
Mancuso energized in Beijing
Many Winter Olympians are used to disappearing from the mainstream media for four years, emerging only at the Games to inspire or disappoint. Gold medalist Julia Mancuso isn't one of them, as she worked as a reporter at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing. The experience provided the 24-year-old skier with plenty of inspiration as she looks ahead to the Vancouver Games. Read more.
Vancouver outlook: Top American skiers
In 2010, the U.S. will enter one of its strongest Alpine teams ever. Featured will be a pair of overall World Cup champions intent on placing painful 2006 Olympic memories far behind them and a pair of 25-year-old Olympic champions seeking repeat performances. Read more.
Top international skiers
Shut out from the overall World Cup titles in 2007-08 by two Americans, European skiers have shifted the balance somewhat this season. The superpower Austrian team deals with its fair share of triumph and trauma, the Swiss look to a teenager for hope, a Norwegian skier returns to the scene of a disaster, a Swede looks to peak at the right time and a German slalom queen has designs for the Alpine throne. Read more.
Since winning gold in Torino, the king of the halfpipe has become a skateboarding champion. He's found time to surf, too.
