What is the difference between giant slalom and slalom

The gates on a slalom course are the closest together, requiring skiers to zig and zag quickly, making turns with rapid speed. If a skier misses a gate, he or she will be disqualified. The giant slalom course at the Winter Olympics was lined with 50 gates spaced farther apart than the gates in the slalom course, but not as far apart as the gates in the super giant slalom, as Reuters reported.

Like the downhill event, the super-G is decided by just one run. It has more gates than the downhill course, but fewer than in slalom or giant slalom. Because the super-G is a speed event, it has a higher vertical drop than either the slalom or giant slalom courses. Photo: Reuters. Lindsey Vonn in the air while skiing. Related Stories. Skiers race head-to-head on parallel slalom courses, and the first to finish gets a point for their team.

The event alternates between men and women, beginning with women. If both skiers fall, the one who got further down the course is the winner. If both teams win two races each, the victory goes to the team with the lowest combined time of its best man and best woman. Facebook Twitter Email. Winter Olympics Alpine skiing: What are slalom, super G? Super giant slalom, or super-G, is a racing discipline of alpine skiing. In the Olympics, super-G courses are usually set on the same slopes as the downhill, but with a lower starting point.

Parallel giant slalom It uses a much longer course than parallel slalom with gates set further apart spaced 20—27 meters apart , resulting in even higher speeds, while racing against an opponent on a similar course place parallel to the other course. A sport where two skiers compete head to head on parallel identical slalom courses. In the slalom, competitors ski between sets of poles — known as gates —that are spaced apart at a certain distance. In the giant slalom, the gates are spaced further apart.