The 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics are well underway. There are a total of fifteen events in these winter games, many of which we are pretty familiar with. However, there are four events you may not be so familiar with. Read on to learn more about these events.
1. Alpine skiing: There are a total of ten events in this event, five for men and five for women. They include the downhill, slalom, giant slalom, super giant, and super combined races. The downhill is based on how fast you cover the distance. The slalom requires the Olympians to ski a course marked with flags and gates. They do this twice, and their combined time determines the medals. The giant slalom is the same thing, but the gates are further apart. The super giant combines downhill and the giant slalom.
2. Nordic combined: In this, events include a ski jumping competition and a 10 km cross-country ski race. There is an individual event with a normal hill, an individual event with a large hill, and a team event. The athletes are given a score for their ski jump and the one with the highest starts the cross-country section first. The gold medal is given to the first skier to cross the finish line.
3. Short track: This is an event of speed skating where the athletes have to cover a 111.12 meter oval ice track as fast as they can. There are individual competitions as well as team relays. For individual they are 500m, 1000m, and 1500m. For the relay, it is 3000m for women and 5000m for men. A total of eight sets of medals are given out.
4. Skeleton: This event may remind us of sledding. It includes going down a track with artificially frozen ice in a sled. The event lasts for two days, where every athlete performs a total of four runs. The overall lowest time receives the gold medal.
All of these events, along with the ones we know and love, are all going to be occurring in the coming weeks for your enjoyment. Hopefully the descriptions above help you understand these four events better if you have never heard of them. Enjoy the Winter Olympics!