Alpine Skiing

If there is one sport that represents the essence of the mountains, it is the alpine skiing. Dizzying descents, breathtaking turns, athletes defying gravity on icy slopes at over 130 km/h. Alpine skiing is power, control and courage. A dangerous dance between technique and daring.

The Origins: from the Alps to Glory

Skiing, as a means of travel, has existed since thousands of years, but Alpine skiing as a sport was born among the mountains of Europe in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The first official competitions are organized in Norway and Switzerland, but it will be Austria that will become one of the undisputed homelands of the discipline.

In 1936, at the Garmisch-Partenkirchen Olympic Games, Germany, Alpine skiing is entering the Olympic program for the first time, with only one combined race (downhill + slalom) open to men and women.

The Olympic Disciplines

Alpine skiing today is divided into five main races, each with different characteristics and difficulties:

• Downhill (Downhill): the fastest and most spectacular. One full-speed downhill on a long course with impressive jumps.
• Super-G (Super Giant): similar to downhill, but with tighter turns. Need a perfect combination of technique and speed.
• Giant Slalom: wide but technical curves. Slower than Super-G, but very technical.
• Special Slalom: the slowest but most technical discipline. Very close stakes, lightning-fast changes of direction.
• Alpine Combined: a mix of downhill (or Super-G) and slalom. Whoever has the best overall time in the two runs wins.
• Parallel Slalom / Team Event: athletes (or teams) compete in direct duels on two parallel tracks. Pure adrenaline.

Alpine Skiing in Italy

Italy has a long tradition in alpine skiing, with historic names such as Alberto Tomba, the Bolognese "bombshell" that made millions of Italians dream in the 1980s and 1990s, or Deborah Compagnoni, queen of the snows in the 1990s. Today the new generation with Sofia Goggia, Federica Brignone e Dominik Paris holds high the tricolor flag in international competitions.

Why follow it?

Alpine skiing is the spectacle of the big mountains. Every race is a challenge between man and nature, between risk and control. Mistakes are not forgiven, and victories are won by tenths of a second. It is not just sport: it is cinema, tension, elegance. And, above all, it is one of the beating hearts of the Winter Olympic Games.