SafekipediaAlpine skiing at the 2014 Winter Olympics
Adapted from Wikipedia · Discoverer experience
Alpine skiing at the 2014 Winter Olympics took place in Russia from February 9 to February 22. The events happened at Rosa Khutor Alpine Resort, which is close to a town called Krasnaya Polyana, east of the city of Sochi. This was part of the big sports event called the Winter Olympics, where athletes from many countries came together to compete in snowy and icy sports. Alpine skiing includes exciting races down mountains on skis, where skiers try to be the fastest. The resort in Russia provided beautiful mountain paths for these thrilling races.
Competition schedule
The following is the competition schedule for all ten events.
All times are (UTC+4).
Course information
| Date | Time | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 9 February | 11:00 | Men's downhill |
| 10 February | 11:00 | Women's super combined |
| 15:00 | ||
| 12 February | 11:00 | Women's downhill |
| 14 February | 10:00 | Men's super combined |
| 15:30 | ||
| 15 February | 11:00 | Women's super-G |
| 16 February | 10:00 | Men's super-G |
| 18 February | 9:30 | Women's giant slalom |
| 13:00 | ||
| 19 February | 11:00 | Men's giant slalom |
| 14:30 | ||
| 21 February | 16:45 | Women's slalom |
| 20:15 | ||
| 22 February | 16:45 | Men's slalom |
| 20:15 |
| Date | Race | Start elevation | Finish elevation | Vertical drop | Course length | Average gradient |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 9 Feb | Downhill – men | 2,045 m (6,709 ft) | 970 m (3,182 ft) | 1,075 m (3,527 ft) | 3.495 km (2.172 mi) | 30.8% |
| Wed 12 Feb | Downhill – women | 1,755 m (5,758 ft) | 965 m (3,166 ft) | 790 m (2,592 ft) | 2.713 km (1.686 mi) | 29.1% |
| Fri 14 Feb | Downhill – (SC) – men | 1,947 m (6,388 ft) | 970 m (3,182 ft) | 977 m (3,205 ft) | 3.219 km (2.000 mi) | 30.4% |
| Mon 10 Feb | Downhill – (SC) – women | 1,755 m (5,758 ft) | 965 m (3,166 ft) | 790 m (2,592 ft) | 2.713 km (1.686 mi) | 29.1% |
| Sun 16 Feb | Super-G – men | 1,592 m (5,223 ft) | 970 m (3,182 ft) | 622 m (2,041 ft) | 2.096 km (1.302 mi) | 29.7% |
| Sat 15 Feb | Super-G – women | 1,580 m (5,184 ft) | 965 m (3,166 ft) | 615 m (2,018 ft) | 2.100 km (1.305 mi) | 29.3% |
| Wed 19 Feb | Giant slalom – men | 1,370 m (4,495 ft) | 960 m (3,150 ft) | 410 m (1,345 ft) | ||
| Tue 18 Feb | Giant slalom – women | 1,365 m (4,478 ft) | 965 m (3,166 ft) | 400 m (1,312 ft) | ||
| Sat 22 Feb | Slalom – men | 1,160 m (3,806 ft) | 960 m (3,150 ft) | 200 m (656 ft) | ||
| Fri 21 Feb | Slalom – women | 1,160 m (3,806 ft) | 960 m (3,150 ft) | 200 m (656 ft) | ||
| Fri 14 Feb | Slalom – (SC) – men | 1,160 m (3,806 ft) | 960 m (3,150 ft) | 200 m (656 ft) | ||
| Mon 10 Feb | Slalom – (SC) – women | 1,160 m (3,806 ft) | 960 m (3,150 ft) | 200 m (656 ft) | ||
Medal summary
Some amazing records were set during the alpine skiing events at the 2014 Winter Olympics. Bode Miller, who was 36 years old, became the oldest person to win a medal in Olympic alpine skiing, earning a bronze in super-G. Mikaela Shiffrin, just 18, became the youngest champion in slalom. Mario Matt, aged 34, was the oldest champion, winning gold in slalom. Henrik Kristoffersen, 19, was the youngest male medalist, taking bronze in slalom.
Medal table
Men's events
- Two bronze medals were given out in the super-G.
Women's events
- Two gold medals were awarded in the downhill, marking the first time there was a tie for gold in an Olympic alpine skiing event. Because of the tie, no silver medal was given.
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Austria | 3 | 4 | 2 | 9 |
| 2 |  United States | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| 3 |  Switzerland | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 4 |  Slovenia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 5 |  Germany | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 6 |  Norway | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 7 |  France | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
 Italy | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 9 |  Croatia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 |  Canada | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (10 entries) | 11 | 9 | 11 | 31 | |
Qualification
Only a certain number of athletes could compete in the alpine skiing events at the 2014 Winter Olympics. Originally, there were 320 spots, but this was later increased to 350 by the International Ski Federation. Each country's team could have up to 22 athletes, with no more than 14 men or 14 women. There were two ways for athletes to qualify: an A standard and a B standard.
Participating nations
Alpine skiing at the 2014 Winter Olympics had athletes from 74 different countries. In total, 327 athletes were planned to compete, but 8 did not make it because they got hurt during training.
Four countries took part in alpine skiing for the very first time: Malta, Timor-Leste, Togo, and Zimbabwe. Venezuela and Thailand also made their first appearance in this sport at the Olympics. One of Thailand’s skiers was a famous violinist named "Vanessa-Mae" Vanakorn. India’s team started as Independent Olympic Participants because their Olympic group was not allowed to join at first, but they were later permitted to compete.
Images
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