An Olympic thrill ride like no other

Alpine skiing's adrenaline rush is back

As one of the signature competitions at the Winter Olympics, Alpine skiing is always a must-watch for those who prefer their sport to be speedy and adrenaline-fueled.

The charm of Alpine skiing lies in its combination of speed and difficulty, with competitors reaching speeds of up to 152 kilometers per hour, while navigating a winding course full of sharp turns and soaring jumps.

The Alpine competition, which will take place at the National Alpine Ski Center of the Yanqing competition zone in suburban Beijing, is considered one of the most physically demanding sports in the Winter Olympics.

Throughout the entire history of Alpine skiing at the Winter Games, only five athletes have successfully defended their Olympic crowns across all events in the competition.

One of the biggest names to look out for at Beijing 2022 is Mikaela Shiffrin of the United States. The two-time Olympic gold medalist won four medals at the 2021 world championships, including gold in Alpine combined.

She has also won three overall World Cup titles, four world championships in slalom, and holds the honor of being the only skier in history with wins in all six Alpine Ski World Cup disciplines.

Shiffrin won gold in the giant slalom and a silver in the combined event at the 2018 Winter Olympics, and it would be a huge surprise if she did not medal in these events in Beijing.

"I went through the experience before, but that was four years ago (for the Pyeongchang Games)," Shiffrin told Olympics.com.

"It's easy to say but it's a lot harder to do when you're there and you're stressed and you feel the pressure and you want to do everything, and the more things that don't go to plan the more stressed and tired you become.

"So I'm doing everything I can to relax and try to be optimistic. But when the time comes, we will have to be realistic."

Pyeongchang super-G winner Czech Ester Ledecka, who also won gold in the parallel giant slalom in snowboarding in 2018, is another star to watch, while Swiss Michelle Gisin, who won gold in the combined event in Pyeongchang, is expected to be a strong contender in Beijing.

On the men's side, stars to watch include France's Mathieu Faivre, who is eyeing a medal in the giant slalom. Faivre's toughest competition could come from teammate Alexis Pinturault, who won silver and bronze in the combined and giant slalom events respectively in Pyeongchang.

With 33 medals up for grabs, there are 11 events in the Alpine competition at Beijing 2022, comprising men's and women's events for downhill, super-G, giant slalom, slalom and Alpine combined, as well as a mixed team competition.

Competitors get one run to post their fastest time in the downhill and super-G events, while the slalom and giant slalom take place over two courses. Competitors who do not finish or are disqualified from their run on the first course do not advance to the second course. The cumulative time from an athlete's runs on both courses is used to determine the winner of the events.

In the Alpine combined, skiers have one downhill run and one slalom run on different courses from those used in the downhill and slalom competitions. Like the slalom and giant slalom, only competitors who complete a successful run on the downhill portion advance to the slalom run. The times of the two runs are combined to determine the final standings.

In the mixed team event, teams comprise two men and two women representing the same nation. Two teams compete against each other in a parallel slalom race, with two skiers racing one another on the same course simultaneously, side-by-side.

In this event, whoever crosses the finish line first is the winner, meaning the team that wins three races advances to the next round of the competition. In the event that both teams win two races, the team with the lowest combined time of their fastest male and female athletes wins.

Skiing can be traced back to prehistoric times through the discoveries of varying sizes and shapes of wooden planks preserved in peat bogs in Russia, Finland, Sweden and Norway.

According to Olympics.com, ski fragments discovered in Russia have been carbon - dated to around 8,000-7,000 BC. It is virtually certain that a form of skiing has been an integral part of life in colder countries for thousands of years.

Men's and women's Alpine skiing both debuted at the Olympics in 1936 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. The only event that year was a combined competition of both downhill and slalom. In 1948, this was held along with separate downhill and slalom races. Four years later, the giant slalom was added, and in 1988, the super-giant slalom became a fourth event. In 2018, the mixed team event became the latest addition to the Winter Olympics Alpine competition.

Kjetil Andre Aamodt of Norway is the most decorated Winter Olympic Alpine skier in history with eight medals, including four golds. Janica Kostelic of Croatia is the most successful female skier in the competition with four golds among six medals. Both Aamodt and Kostelic are the only athletes to have won four gold medals in Alpine skiing at the Winter Olympics.