There isn't just one, but four different types of skiing competitions that will occur in the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
Why not just categorize them all as skiing?
That would make sense if they all were relatively the same, but they are not.
Here are the four skiing events:
Freestyle Skiing
The freestyle skiing competition at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics is made up of five electrifying events: ski cross, ski slope-style, half-pipe, moguls, and aerials.
What makes an event unique from the other? The simple answer is the courses on which they occur. Ski cross is a race that occurs on a track of jumps and wide turns; whereas ski slope style is a judged event on a terrain run of strenuous ramps and rails.
Then there's the half-pipe. Half-pipe compels athletes to ski along a tube-like slope; moguls is a held on a slope of bumps and jumps; while in aerials, athletes catapult themselves from two-to-four-meter jumps to get the gnarliest air possible.
Cross Country Skiing
Cross-country skiing is a lengthy competition, with events spanning throughout all 15 days in PyeongChang. This type of skiing is the oldest form of skiing. It made its debut in the first Winter Games (1924).
It forces competitors to drive themselves either by striding forward, in other words a "classic technique" or by a side-to-side skating movement known as a "free technique." Professional racers average 15 miles per hour for continuous distances up to 35 miles– wow!
The skiathlon is a cross-country skiing race in two stages.The first stage is done with the "classical technique," after which racers can change skis at a transition area and continue racing using the "free technique."
No matter what, skiers should brace themselves for the harsh temperatures that PyeongChang could bring. In the light of this, one benefit of cross-country skiing is that unlike alpine skiing (held at higher and more exposed elevations) cross-country races are held on lower terrain where it can be less cold.
Alpine Skiing
This event is not as old as cross country skiing, but still is pretty old. Alpine skiing has been in the Winter Olympics picture since 1936. It also seems to be the "colder" ski event–alpine skiing. It is not a single event, in fact alpine skiing makes up 11 unique competitions. Both the men and women compete in two "speed events"– the downhill and the super G, two "technical events"– the slalom and giant slalom, and then a combined event.
Also, expect to watch a new team event in PyeongChang. This event will have co-ed teams of four facing off against one another in a single-elimination bracket.
The elite racers cover the men's course of 1 ¾ miles — the women's course is a tad shorter — in about 1 minute, 40 seconds, while falling 2,700 feet in altitude.
That's about the height of two Empire State Buildings or nearly three Eiffel Towers. I have a massive fear of heights so I applaud these athletes for doing what they do.
Ski Jumping
Have you ever heard of Eddie "The Eagle?" I saw the movie, based on a true story, when it came out and I highly recommend it. For those of you who are not familiar with Eddie or ski jumping, take a look at the movie trailer:
There are four events— men's individual normal hill, men's individual large hill, men's team large hill and women's individual normal hill.
That is just a little look into each of the four types of skiing that will occur in PyeongChang.
The 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics begin Friday, February 9th.
