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Skiing is a means of transport using skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International Ski Federation (FIS).
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.
Jan Ingemar Stenmark is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from Sweden. He is regarded as one of the most prominent Swedish athletes ever, and as the greatest slalom and giant slalom specialist of all time. He competed for Tärna IK Fjällvinden.
Tina Maze is a retired Slovenian World Cup alpine ski racer.
Benjamin Raich is a retired champion World Cup alpine ski racer and Olympic gold medalist from Austria. With 14 medals won at Winter Olympics and World Championships, 36 World Cup race victories, one first place and five second places in the World Cup overall ranking, three victories of the slalom World Cup, three victories of the combined World Cup, two victories of the giant slalom World Cup and the highest score of career World Cup points, he is considered among the best alpine racers in World Cup history.
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.
Nicole Hosp is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from Austria. She competed in all five disciplines and was a world champion, three-time Olympic medalist, and an overall World Cup champion.
The giant slalom is conducted in two runs, with emphasis on manoeuvering rather than speed as the gates are fairly close together – but not as close as in slalom. The giant slalom also promotes endurance, with the primary difference between it and the slalom competition being the length of the course - the difference in level in giant slalom is 300 to 450 metres, while in slalom it is between 180 and 220 metres. This also leads to the gates being further apart in giant slalom. The men's giant slalom took place on 20 February.
Gertrud Gabl was an alpine skier from Austria. She competed in several events at the 1968 and 1972 Olympics with the best result of nine place in the giant slalom in 1968.
Nicolien Sauerbreij is a Dutch professional snowboarder. She won seven World Cup races and ranked first in the parallel giant slalom standings of the 2007–2008 and the 2009–2010 World Cup. She competed in the Winter Olympic Games of 2002, 2006 and won the gold medal in the women's parallel giant slalom in the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Anna Veith is an Austrian World Cup alpine ski racer and Olympic gold medalist. She was the overall World Cup champion for the 2014 and 2015 seasons.
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.
The FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2015 were the 43rd FIS Alpine World Ski Championships, held from 2–15 February in the United States at Vail / Beaver Creek, Colorado.
Mikaela Pauline Shiffrin is an American two-time Olympic gold medalist and World Cup alpine skier. She is the current three-time reigning Overall World Cup champion, the four-time reigning world champion in slalom, and a six-time winner of the World Cup discipline title in that event. Shiffrin is the youngest slalom champion in Olympic alpine skiing history, at 18 years and 345 days.
The 48th World Cup season began on 26 October 2013, in Sölden, Austria, and concluded on 16 March 2014 at the World Cup finals in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. The defending overall champions from the 2013 season were Marcel Hirscher of Austria and Tina Maze of Slovenia. The overall titles were won by Hirscher and Anna Fenninger, also of Austria. The season was interrupted by the 2014 Winter Olympics that took place from 7 to 23 February in Sochi, Russia, with the alpine events at Rosa Khutor.
The 49th World Cup season began on 25 October 2014, in Sölden, Austria, and concluded on 22 March 2015 at the World Cup finals in Meribel, France. The defending overall champions from the 2014 season - Marcel Hirscher and Anna Fenninger, both of Austria, defended their titles successfully. The season was interrupted by the World Championships in February, in the United States at Vail/Beaver Creek, Colorado. Combined events were not awarded as a discipline trophy.
Petra Vlhová is a Slovak World Cup alpine ski racer who specialises in the technical events of slalom and giant slalom. She is the current world champion in giant slalom.
The International Ski Federation (FIS) Alpine World Cup tour is the premier circuit for alpine skiing competition. The inaugural season launched in January 1967, and the 2016 season marked the 50th consecutive year for the FIS. This World Cup season began on 24 October 2015, in Sölden, Austria, and concluded in Saint Moritz, Switzerland on 20 March 2016. The World Ski Championship, a biennial event, did not interrupt this competitive season, and the upcoming World Championships were held Saint Moritz, Switzerland in February 2017
The 2014–15 FIS Snowboard World Cup was the 21st edition of the FIS Snowboard World Cup, organised by International Ski Federation. The FIS Snowboarding World Cup consisted of the parallel slalom, parallel giant slalom, snowboard cross, halfpipe, slopestyle and big air.
References
- ↑ "Men's Giant Slalom Official Results" (PDF). Retrieved 14 February 2015.
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