Skiing is perhaps the sport most associated with the Winter Olympic – but just how fast are skiers going when racing down the slopes? How does it compare across the four events in Beijing?
Skiing at the Beijing Winter Olympics are taking place over four different events.
They are the Downhill, Super-G, Giant slalom and Slalom events.
As of February 7th, medals have already been handed in Men’s Downhill and Women’s Giant Slalom.
American defending champion Mikaela Shiffrin failed to finish in her Giant Slalom defence after falling during her run.
But just how fast are the Winter Olympic skiers going as they tackle the slopes in Beijing?
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How fast Winter Olympic skiers go
The fastest skiing event in the Winter Olympics is typically the Men’s Downhill competition.
The Gold medal event for this took place on February 7th – with Switzerland’s Beat Feuz claiming the gold medal.
His time of 1m:42.69s to cover the 3152m course at the Yanqing Alpine Skiing centre clocked in at 68.66 miles per hour.
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Olympic skiers can normally be found clocking in speeds around the 65-70mph mark.
However, in a practice run in China, Austria’s Johannes Strolz clocked in at 86.5mph, although he did not make the final.
Ski speeds in other events
The Downhill events are the fastest Olympic skiers will go in Bejing.
They are essentially a flat out race from top-to-bottom and fastest man – in this case Feuz – wins.
The Super G event combines the raw speed of Downhill skiing with the technical questions raised by the giant slalom turns.
Of the two slalom events, Giant Slalom is faster as the Slalom competition features more gates and more twisty sections of the course.
Speeds for Olympic skiers can drop to around 50mph.
In total, there are 11 events taking place in Beijing.
As well as the four main events for the skiers, there is also a combined event for both Men and Women, with a mixed team event also on offer.
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Explained Trending – HITC Know What Happened – Here’s how fast skiers are going at the Beijing Winter Olympics