Downhill is a form of alpine skiing competition. Whereas the other alpine skiing events emphasize turning and technique, downhill emphasizes "the six components of technique, courage, speed, risk, physical condition and judgement", according to the FIS "International Ski Competition Rules (ICR)". Speeds of up to 130 km/h (81 mph) are common in international competition. Athletes must have an aerodynamically efficient tuck position to minimize drag and increase speed.
Giant slalom (GS) is an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline. It involves skiing between sets of poles (gates) spaced at a greater distance from each other than in slalom but less than in Super-G.
Theodore Sharp Ligety is an American alpine ski racer, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, and an entrepreneur, having cofounded Shred Optics. Ligety won the combined event at the 2006 Olympics in Turin and the giant slalom race at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi. He is also a five-time World Cup champion in giant slalom. Ligety won the gold medal in the giant slalom at the 2011 World Championships. He successfully defended his world title in giant slalom in 2013 in Schladming, Austria, where he also won an unexpected gold medal in the super-G and a third gold medal in the super combined. Through October, 2015, he has 25 victories and 52 podiums in World Cup competition.
Gustav Thöni is a retired alpine ski racer from Italy.
Anton "Jimmy" Steiner is an Austrian former alpine skier. He was born in Lienz, Osttirol.
Gertrud Gabl was an alpine skier from Austria. She competed in several events at the 1968 and 1972 Olympics with the best result of 9th place in the giant slalom in 1968.
Leyti Seck is a Senegalese alpine skier.he holds dual Austrian/Senegalese nationality. He competed on the international skiing circuit after turning professional in 2002, and competed for Senegal at both the 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics.
The FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1958 were held 1–9 February in Bad Gastein, Salzburg, Austria.
Rudolph Matt was an Austrian alpine skier and world champion.
Ludwig Leitner was a German alpine ski racer and world champion, born in Mittelberg, Austria.
Erika "Riki" Mahringer was an Austrian alpine skier who competed in the 1948 and 1952 Winter Olympics. In 1948 she won the bronze medal in the slalom event as well as in the Alpine combined competition. In the downhill contest she finished 19th. Four years later she finished fourth in the 1952 Olympic downhill event. In the same year she finished 17th in the giant slalom competition and 22nd in the slalom contest.
Marcel Hirscher is an Austrian former World Cup alpine ski racer. Hirscher made his World Cup debut in March 2007. He competed primarily in slalom and giant slalom, as well as combined and occasionally in super G. Winner of a record eight consecutive World Cup titles, Hirscher has also won 11 medals at the Alpine Skiing World Championships, seven of them gold, a silver medal in slalom at the 2014 Winter Olympics, and two gold medals in the combined and giant slalom at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Due to his record number of overall titles, many years of extreme dominance of both slalom and giant slalom and of the men's overall ranking, he is considered by many, including his former rivals Henrik Kristoffersen, Kjetil Jansrud and Alexis Pinturault, to be one of the best alpine skiers in history.
Kristaps Zvejnieks is an Alpine ski racer and inline Alpine slalom racer from Latvia. He competed for Latvia at the 2010 Winter Olympics. He competed in slalom and giant slalom and his best result was a 37th place in the slalom. He competes in FIS, CIT, EC and WC levels. He had his first World Cup start in Schladming on 24 January 2012.
Patrick Thaler is a retired World Cup alpine ski racer from northern Italy. Born in Bolzano, South Tyrol, he specialized in the slalom. Thaler competed for Italy at the 2006, 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics but failed to finish. His best result from Alpine World Ski Championships is a seventh place in Val-d'Isère, France, in 2009.
The 46th World Cup season began on 22 October 2011, in Sölden, Austria, and concluded on 18 March 2012, at the World Cup finals in Schladming, Austria.
The 47th World Cup season began on 27 October 2012, in Sölden, Austria, and concluded on 17 March 2013, at the World Cup finals in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. The overall titles were won by Marcel Hirscher of Austria and Tina Maze of Slovenia.
The FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2017 were the 44th FIS Alpine World Ski Championships and were held from 6 to 19 February 2017 at Piz Nair in St. Moritz, Switzerland. The host city was selected at the FIS Congress in South Korea, on 31 May 2012. The other finalists were Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, and Åre, Sweden.
Michael Matt is an Austrian World Cup alpine ski racer. He specialises in the Slalom discipline and has competed in three World Championships.
Manuel Feller is an Austrian World Cup alpine ski racer. Feller specializes in the technical events of slalom and giant slalom, and made his World Cup debut in November 2012.
Adriana Jelinkova is a Dutch alpine ski racer. Jelinkova specializes in the technical events of giant slalom and slalom. Jelinkova made her World Cup debut on 16 December 2012.
