ALPINE SKIING
The four alpine skiing disciplines are similar, by simple definition. Skiers race between red and blue gates for the quickest possible time.
Each country is allowed four competitors in each event.
Skiers can race in any manner they choose, along any line they wish, but experience tells them there's only one line that will lead them to the winner's podium.
And even though in the simplest of explanations they seem similar, in truth the four disciplines are very different.
DOWNHILL: Of all the alpine events, this one is the most popular with spectators, even though very little of the race can be seen live from any one vantage point. The course itself is long, typically following the most challenging terrain, and requires the most nerve. Skiers hit speeds up to 70 and 85 mph.
A downhill race comprises of one run. The skier with the fastest time wins. The course itself is set up in alternating red and blue gates. Because of the high speeds and the vulnerability of the racers to unstable snow conditions, downhill courses must be firm and clear of soft snow. This is why the downhill is the first event on the Olympic event schedule. If snow conditions are not right on race day, officials have the remainder of the Olympics to try and reschedule the event.
There are occasions when something or someone may interfere with a racer or a problem may develop on the course which would allow for a rerun. Racers, however, would prefer to avoid that situation at all costs.
The secrets to a good downhill run are to keep the skis on the snow, to stay in contact with the snow and to keep the body aerodynamically true. New equipment, including space-age helmets, curved poles and form-fitting ski suits, help cut down wind resistance. The skis for this event are long and have low tip profiles, again to cut down on wind resistance.
The start order is based on past results, which account for seed points. The skiers with the lowest seed points or best past results start first. The first seed, the top 15, get to pick numbers out of a hat and pick their start positions. Most skiers do not prefer being first on the course.
To get the best possible snow conditions, races are generally scheduled in the morning. It's also common for officials to ice a course to make the surface as hard and fast as possible.
SUPER-G: This is the newest of the alpine events and was introduced as a made-for-TV race to complement the downhill. The course is slightly shorter than a downhill and the gates are at more of an angle to get skiers to turn a little more, thus slowing speeds slightly.
As with other races, the gate sequence is the same — red, blue, red, blue, etc. This is also a one-run event, and the skier with the quickest time is the one who gets the gold. The secret to a good run is to start the turns early, not be too hard on the edges in a turn, to spend as little time as possible in the air and to put the body in a tuck where possible.
Speeds in the super-G are slightly slower than in a downhill but can still get up around 60 and 70 mph. The start order is figured the same way as for the downhill.
GIANT SLALOM: Of all the alpine events, the giant slalom looks like it would be the easiest, but racers say quite the opposite. This is a technical race, where turns must be more precise, and ski position on the snow must be more exact. There is no room for mistakes — even the slightest mistakes.
In the GS, gate placement is much tighter than either the downhill or super-G. The course is also shorter. Skiers must make wide, sweeping turns and must anticipate the turns in order to make a smooth, flowing arc.
The GS is a two-run event. After the first run, there is a break and the course is reset for the second run. Skiers for the first run are placed according to their seeding points. The racers with the lowest points run early and those with the highest come last. For the second run, skiers are placed according to their first-run finishes. The exception is that the first 15 racers run in reverse order. That is, the skier with the fastest time on the first run will race 15th and the skier in 15th position after the first run will race first. The skier with the lowest combined time on the two runs wins.
SLALOM: This is called the riskiest of all alpine events. Gates are closer together, sometimes even touching, and require a skier to make quick, rapid-fire turns. Being just a fraction of an inch too late or too early can cause a skier to hit a gate or miss a turn. Officials figure on at least 10 percent of the field being disqualified.
As with the GS, the slalom is a combination of two runs, generally made about an hour apart. The skier with the lowest combined time for the two runs wins. Times separating winners and losers can sometimes be in the hundredths of a second.
This event is a favorite among spectators because the course is much shorter than the other three events and usually can be viewed from top to bottom.
And, as with the GS, the original start is based on seed points — the skiers with the fewest points start first and the ones with the most start last. The disadvantage with this race is that the course, no matter how hard the surface, takes a beating. The later a racer starts, the rougher the course. A new course is set for the running of the second run.
For the second run, the start is based on performance on the first run, but here again the running order of the top 15 is flopped.
COMBINED (DOWNHILL/SLALOM): This event combines the results of two races — the downhill and slalom. Competitors will ski the downhill first, then after a break return and make two slalom runs. Generally, the order of finish in the downhill determines the start order for the slalom. This, however, is not a set rule.
Because the events are so opposite — the downhill is based on speed, while the slalom more on technical skills — the combined favors skiers with well-rounded skiing skills as opposed to someone who has specialized in either speed or technical events.
The times clocked on all three runs — one downhill and two slalom — are added, and the skier with the lowest time wins the gold.
BIATHLON
MEN'S 10-KILOMETER RACE: Competitors in the individual "sprint" event start at 30-second or one-minute intervals. The first of two shooting sessions comes after skiing 3.75 kilometers, with five rounds fired in the prone position. The second session is at about the 7.5-kilometer mark, when five more rounds are fired from the standing position. A skier must ski a 150-meter penalty loop for each missed target.
WOMEN'S 7.5 KILOMETERS: Same as men's 10K, with a shorter distance.
MEN'S 20 KILOMETERS: In the longest of the individual events, competitors start at 30-second or one-minute intervals. The course is comprised of five sections, some of which must be covered more than once. Competitors complete four firing sessions of five rounds each in the sequence prone/standing/prone/standing with no support for the rifle. Each missed target results in the addition of a minute to the competitor's final time (in the 1960 and 1964 Games, the penalty time was two minutes per miss).
WOMEN'S 15 KILOMETERS: Same as men's 20K, with a shorter distance.
MEN'S 4X10-KILOMETER RELAY RACE: With the event featuring a mass start, each member of the four-man team takes a turn skiing 10 kilometers — stopping first to shoot prone and later standing during his segment. After completing a leg, the biathlete then tags a teammate to start the next leg. Competitors will shoot faster in the relay — sometimes in as few as 20 seconds — because they are allowed three extra bullets (a total of eight) to hit the five targets. The rifle's magazine contains the first five bullets, with the additional three requiring loading one at a time. After three misses, a biathlete must ski a 150-meter penalty loop.
WOMEN'S 4X7.5-KILOMETER RELAY: Four women compete in a similar relay event, with a shorter distance.
MEN'S 12-KILOMETER PURSUIT: This is the fastest-paced race — exciting for spectators. The start field is comprised of the top 60 racers from the previously held sprint race. The winner of the sprint race is the first to start in the pursuit. Second place in the sprint goes out second, following the winner by the time margin that he was behind in the sprint finish. Then each racer begins the pursuit in order of finish of the sprint, and after the time has elapsed that he was behind the winner. The shooting sequence is prone/prone/standing/standing. Each missed target requires athletes to ski a 150-meter penalty loop.
WOMEN'S 10-KILOMETER PURSUIT: Same as men's event, with the women skiing shorter distance.
BOBSLED
Today, two varieties of bobsled are used, two-man and four-man. Men compete in both types; two women race in the smaller sled.
The 2002 Winter Olympics will be the first time women bobsled teams will compete in the Games, although women bobsledders have raced in other competitions.
Bobsled races were part of the first Winter Olympics in 1924 in Chamonix, France. The two-man sled made its debut eight years later during the Lake Placid, N.Y., Winter Games.
At the top of the 0.8-mile Utah Olympic Park track, team members push the sleds, running up to about 50 yards before they jump in. With its jointed fiberglass hull and steel blades, a sled may reach speeds such as 80 mph.
Bobsledding is dangerous. Sometimes sleds roll on the steep, curving course, and they usually don't stop until they pass the finish line. While they are sliding on their sides, athletes sometimes try to keep the weight on their helmets, because otherwise the friction with the ice will burn through their suits.
Races are held in heats, with the shortest cumulative time determining the medal winners. Men and women have separate events.
In a bobsled competition, the first heat may narrow the field to the top 15 sleds. Then the second heat allows the five sleds with the best times to compete against each other, number five going first and the fastest going fifth. The purpose of that is to preserve the best condition ice for the best teams.
After the first five finish their final heat, the remaining 10 sleds will race.
The latest schedule for the 2002 Winter Games has three bobsled events, men's two-man sled, men's four-man sled and women's.
CROSS COUNTRY
MEN'S 15 KILOMETERS: While recent Winter Olympics have featured men's 10-kilometer events, the men's 15K will be the 2002 Winter Games' shortest "traditional" men's race — excluding the new sprint event. The classical technique will be used in the 15K, with competitors racing with a diagonal stride. Races are run against the clock, with skiers leaving the starting line in 30-second intervals.
WOMEN'S 10 KILOMETERS: Similar to the men's 15K. The women will also use the classical technique in the 10K, which is twice as long as the shorter 5K from previous Winter Games.
MEN'S 30 KILOMETERS: The freestyle or skating technique will be allowed in the men's middle-distance event. Rather than a typical timed-interval start, a mass start of all competitors is planned for this event.
WOMEN'S 15 KILOMETERS: Similar to the men's 30K, the 15K is the middle-distance event and the sole individual freestyle race for the women. The women's 15K will feature a mass start as well.
MEN'S 50 KILOMETERS: The marathon-like endurance race for the men will be competed in the classical technique for the 2002 Winter Games. The 50 kilometers was the first Olympic nordic skiing event, dating back to the inaugural 1924 Chamonix Games. It and the men's gold-medal ice hockey game enjoy a special spotlight as being the only two events contested on the final day of the Winter Olympics.
WOMEN'S 30 KILOMETERS: Similar to the men's 50K in type of event and technique used.
MEN'S 4x10-KILOMETER RELAY: Four men make up a squad, with each skiing 10-kilometer legs. Rather than the staggered, time-interval starts for most individual races, the first skiers in relay competition begin in a mass start. Through 1988, the relay was a freestyle event; since the 1992 Albertville Games, two skiers must use the classical technique while the other two employ the skating method.
WOMEN'S 4x5-KILOMETER RELAY: Similar to the men's relay in start, technique and number of team members. The four women, however, each ski 5-kilometer segments.
MEN'S 20-KILOMETER COMBINED PURSUIT: The pursuit differs from other traditional individual events in several ways. First, it's actually a two-race event; second, competitors place in the order they finish the event in head-to-head competition, rather than according to their time in interval-started races. Starting off in timed intervals, skiers will use the classical technique in a 10-kilometer morning segment. In the afternoon-ending 10-kilometer race, the skiers start off in order and relative time of the morning race's finish — the leader starts; the second-place finisher follows as many seconds later as the time margin he was behind the leader in the earlier race. Able to use the freestyle technique in the second segment, all competitors depart in order and according to their relative team behind the first-race leader — hence, the "pursuit" name. The combined pursuit ends up being head-to-head competition, with the overall winner being the first to finish the afternoon race. In past Olympics the finish order and individual times of the men's 10K medal event served as the first segment of the combined pursuit, which was held on a subsequent day. For the 2002 WinterGames, the first segment of the pursuit will be a separate, nonmedal race scheduled in the morning prior to the final "pursuit" race in the afternoon of the same day.
WOMEN'S 10-KILOMETER PURSUIT: Similar to the men's race in procedure and technique. Women will ski two five-kilometer segments in the same day for the combined pursuit event
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S 1.5-KILOMETER SPRINTS: A new event for the 2002 WinterGames, the "sprint" is all that its name implies — a mad dash across a very short course. Skiers compete first in qualifying heats, with the top finishers advancing through subsequent quarterfinals, semifinals and finals competitions.
CURLING
In curling, athletes "throw" (really more a "push") granite stones — quarried in Scotland or Wales — from a crouching position. They aim for a target called a "house" on the other end of the arena. Opponents also aim for the target while attempting to knock other stones out of play. Games are played in "ends" or innings. Points are scored according to whose stones are closest to the target.
The men's and women's curling events in the 2002 Winter Olympic Games each will begin with a round-robin tournament, from which emerge four teams that will play in the semifinals. Teams are comprised of four members with each player throwing two stones per end (similar to an inning in baseball). Sixteen stones are thrown in each end, and a match lasts for 10 ends, with each team given a total of 75 minutes to strategize and participate in an 10-end game. Extra ends are played to break a tie after 10 ends.
Ten teams in each of the men's and women's tournaments will compete in pool competition, with the top four teams advancing to semifinals and finals in medal-round play. The winners of the two semifinal games go on to the gold-medal game, while the losers contend for the bronze. There will be 10 men's teams and 10 women's teams in Salt Lake City, up from eight each in Nagano. The 10 teams that have the honor of competing in the Olympics are chosen according to their rankings in the three previous world championships. As the host country, the United States will be represented in both men's and women's play.
FIGURE SKATING
LADIES' SINGLES, MEN'S SINGLES: The competition is separated into two parts, the short program and free skate. The short program is skated first and counts for a third of the skater's total score. It must include eight required elements: three jumps (including one in combination), spins and step sequences. The moves may be done in any order and completed within 2 minutes, 40 seconds. Judges award two scores — one for how well the athlete completed the elements and one recognizing the overall quality of the presentation.
The long program, also called the free skate, is worth two-thirds of a skater's total score. Here, skaters may select their own music, theme and choreography. Though there are no "required" elements, judges still critique a skater's program for difficulty and presentation. The free skate lasts four minutes.
PAIRS: Pairs teams also have a two-part competition, the short and long programs. The short program must include eight elements: overhead lifts, side-by-side and solo spins done in unison, footwork, pair spins and a death spiral. The short program is 2 minutes, 40 seconds.
As with singles skaters, the pairs' long program allows skaters to show their strengths, skills and originality. During the 4 minutes, 30 seconds allowed the long program, skaters should demonstrate at least three different lifts, one throw jump, one solo jump and one jump sequence, solo and pairs spin, one footwork and spiral sequence, and one death spiral. The long program counts for two-thirds of a team's overall score.
ICE DANCING: The ice dancing competition consists of four parts: two compulsory dances, a two-minute original dance and a four-minute free dance.
In the compulsory dances, each team performs the same two dances, selected annually by the International Skating Union, which is the international federation for figure skating. Judges look for accuracy, style, unison, timing and expression; they award one mark for each dance.
In the original dance, skaters are given a prescribed rhythm with a defined tempo range from which they develop an original version of the dance. The dance should have the character of ballroom dancing. Judges award two marks for the original dance — one for composition (originality and difficulty) and one for presentation.
The free dance, which counts for half of a team's score, allows athletes to show their creativity, originality and technical skill. Teams may choose their own music and create their own choreography. Two sets of marks are awarded, one for technical merit and one for presentation.
FREESTYLE
AERIALS: The skier is propelled off of a specially designed ramp called a "kicker" to heights of up to 50 feet. While in the air, the skiers execute back flips, kicks and other acrobatics. They are judged on the difficulty of their stunts, how cleanly they perform them and how they land.
In the finals, 12 men and 12 women compete; there are seven judges.
Scoring breakdown: 30 percent on landings, 20 percent air and 50 percent form; there are 30 maximum points.
MOGULS: The mogul course is a steep hill with hard-packed snow mounds and depressions.
The skier absorbs the shock of the bumps by bending at the knees and hips. Shoulders should remain parallel to the finish line. Skis should not leave the surface of the snow, except when performing tricks off the two jumps on the course.
Twelve men and 12 women compete; there are five judges.
Scoring break down: 50 percent on turns, 25 percent air/tricks, 25 percent speed, with 30 points maximum.
ICE HOCKEY
MEN'S TOURNAMENT: A 14-team competition that includes NHL players. Six powerhouse countries — Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Sweden and the United States — receive first-round byes, minimizing the length of time to 12 days that the NHL has to suspend play. Eight other nations compete in the preliminary round, with the top two advancing to join the six "dream teams" in round-robin play. Those eight teams will be seeded in the medal round according to their round-robin results.
WOMEN'S TOURNAMENT: Eight nations will compete, an increase from the six that participated in Nagano in 1998. Four teams will compete in each of two pools, with the top two teams from each pool advancing to the medal round. The top six seeds were decided by the finish at the IIHF 2000 Women's World Championship: (1) Canada; (2) United States; (3) Finland; (4) Sweden; (5) Russia; (6) China.
LUGE
Luge gained official Olympic status in 1964 and has been held in every Winter Games since. Germans have dominated the sport, winning 29 of the 30 gold medals awarded.
Like any Olympic sport, luge is governed by strict rules. A luge sled can weigh no more than 48.4 pounds (22 kilograms) and a doubles sled no more than 55.1 pounds (25 kg). The sled's runners can only be 18 inches apart.
Each country can send a maximum of three men, three women and two doubles teams to the Olympics. The singles events are decided after four luge runs, with the slider holding the lowest aggregate time winning. Doubles competition is decided after two runs, again with the title going to the team with the lowest aggregate time.
Lugers slide feet first and can reach speeds nearing 90 mph. Single sleds have no brakes, and sliders use their feet and upper body to steer. In doubles luge, one slider is positioned below his partner and the two slide together on a single sled.
Lugers wear helmets, face shields, lycra-type suits, gloves with spikes and shoes called "booties." The spikes on the gloves can be no longer than 4 millimeters and assist lugers in pushing off the during the start.
NORDIC COMBINED
The world's top nordic combiners will vie for medals in three competitions during the 2002 Games: a traditional nordic combined competition, a nordic combined "sprint" event and the team nordic combined competition.
The traditional nordic combined event opens with a ski-jumping competition scored under regular ski-jumping rules. The second half of the competition involves a 15-kilometer cross country race in which the winner of the ski-jumping competition starts first. The rest of the field follows a staggered start, based on ski-jumping scores.
The nordic combined "sprint," a new event added to the Winter Games, involves one jump off the K120 ski jump followed by a 7.5-kilometer race.
The cross country phase of the nordic combined team event also is conducted with a staggered start decided by each nation's performance in the jumping phase. However, after each start, the event becomes a relay — each skier competes a 5-kilometer lap and tags a teammate to begin the next lap. The first individual or team to cross the finish line is the winner.
The jumping portion of the nordic combined events for the 2002 Games will take place at the Utah Olympic Park. The cross country phase will be staged at Soldier Hollow.
SKELETON
Skeleton is one of the most extreme sports in the Winter Olympics. A form of sledding, it is like luge with a wild difference: a skeleton athlete rides a three-foot sled head down and face first.
One at a time, skeletoneers whip down the same track at Utah Olympic Park that is used for bobsled and luge — a steeply falling, winding wonder of banked curves and straightaways about 0.8 of a mile long. As the athlete rockets at nearly 80 miles per hour, sometimes the helmet's chin guard may scrape along the ice, adding a quiet, eerie "skreeee" to the sled's whoosh.
Skeleton races often are held in heats with top competitors in one heat surviving to race in the next. Final score is based on total time for the heats.
Skeleton made its Olympics debut in 1928 during the Games at St. Moritz, Switzerland. But it disappeared from the roster until the 1948 Games, again in St. Moritz. Then skeleton was left off the Olympics schedule until its revival in the 2002 Winter Olympics.
For the first time in the history of the Olympics, women will compete in this thrilling sport. Men and women compete in separate events.
SKI JUMPING
Ski jumping, like nordic combined, is a man's world. There is no women's competition, although countries are developing young women among their jumping ranks.
There will be a trio of 2002 Olympic competitions: a large hill (K120) ski jump individual competition, a large hill team event and a normal hill (K90) individual event.
Athletes perform two jumps in each event. Distance accounts for half of the total score, while technique in the air and landing accounts for the other half. The jumper with the highest point total for both jumps wins.
In the team competition, four jumpers comprise a team, and their cumulative score determines the nation's standings.
SNOWBOARDING
HALFPIPE: A halfpipe is a carved-out channel of snow that resembles a barrel split sideways. It is about 110 meters long, about 12 meters from edge to edge and features rounded walls that are about 3.5 meters high. Riders glide up and down the high banked walls to do various tricks and maneuvers. They are judged on standard air, amplitude, rotations, landing and technical merit. There are no required moves.
DUAL GIANT SLALOM: Riders race head-to-head down side-by-side courses of at least 20 gates similar to giant slalom ski racing. After each run, racers switch courses. The one with the fastest combined time for both courses eliminates the other and moves to the next round. Heats continue until one racer remains.
There are men's and women's competitions in each event.
SPEEDSKATING (LONG TRACK)
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S 500 METERS: This is an event of pure, all-out speed, in which North Americans and Asians particularly excel. It is just over once around the 400-meter oval, and the slightest slip or bobble can spell the difference between victory and defeat. It favors strong, powerful skaters who don't necessarily endure well.
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S 1,000 METERS: Like the 500 meters, the 1,000 meters is a short, speed-oriented event wherein racers have to worry little about pacing themselves. While the pace is not quite as uninhibited as the 500 meters, mostly the skaters don't worry about strategy. They just go fast.
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S 1,500 METERS: This is the middle-distance event of speed skating, akin to the 400-meter race in track. Skaters have to have both burst speed and some endurance, as the race is too long to go all-out throughout.
WOMEN'S 3,000 METERS: This is the second-longest of the distance events for women, who don't participate in the 10,000-meter race.
MEN'S 5,000 METERS: This is a long race, where strategy and endurance play a big part in who wins. Skaters who start out too quickly often fade before the race is over, while those who keep a steady pace do well.
WOMEN'S 5,000 METERS: Similar to the men's 5,000, this is the longest race for the women competitors.
MEN'S 10,000 METERS: This is the granddaddy of all speedskating races, a favorite among the European and Scandinavian crowds. At more than six miles, even top skaters rarely break 14 minutes in the 10,000 meters. Endurance above all wins this event.
SPEEDSKATING (SHORT-TRACK)
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S 500 METERS: This is a blisteringly fast race, with the slightest bobble or slip liable to land you on the sideboard. Racers have to watch not only to keep their speed up but other skaters who are trying to pass them in the pack. Getting out in the lead early is critical.
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S 1,000 METERS: Skaters start out more slowly in this race, letting others break the air for a few laps, then, usually, one begins to skate more quickly and the others follow suit in order to keep up. Occasionally one will break out too early and inevitably tire out, finishing far back in the pack.
WOMEN'S 3,000-METER RELAY: Skaters compete in four-woman squads. Each skater can race as long as she wants at a time, though 1 1/2 laps is standard. Skaters technically switch with teammates by touching them, though the standard way is to push them vigorously from behind, transferring some of the momentum.
MEN'S 5,000-METER RELAY: Identical to the women's relay, except a four-man team covers a distance of 5,000 meters.
