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Giant slalom (GS) is an
alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...
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 Super giant slalom, or super-G, is a racing discipline of alpine skiing. Along with the faster downhill, it is regarded as a "speed" event, in contrast to the technical events giant slalom and slalom. It debuted as an official World Cup event d ...
. Giant slalom and slalom make up the technical events in alpine ski racing. This category separates them from the speed events of Super-G and
downhill Downhill may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Downhill'' (1927 film), a British film by Alfred Hitchcock * ''Downhill'' (2014 film), a British comedy directed by James Rouse * ''Downhill'' (2016 film), a Chilean thriller directed by Patrici ...
. The technical events are normally composed of two runs, held on different courses on the same ski run.


Course

The vertical drop for a GS course must be for men, and for women. The number of gates in this event is 56–70 for men and 46–58 for women. The number of direction changes in a GS course equals 11–15% of the vertical drop of the course in metres, 13–18% for children. As an example, a course with a vertical drop of would have 33–45 direction changes for an adult race.


Speed

Although giant slalom is not the fastest event in skiing, on average a well-trained racer may reach average speeds of .


Equipment

Giant slalom skis are shorter than super-G and downhill skis, and longer than slalom skis. In an attempt to increase safety for the 2003–04 season, the
International Ski Federation The ''Fédération internationale de ski et de snowboard'' (FIS; en, International Ski and Snowboard Federation) is the highest international governing body for skiing and snowboarding. Founded on 2 February 1924 in Chamonix, France during the ...
(FIS) increased the minimum sidecut radius for giant slalom skis to and for the first time imposed minimum ski lengths for GS: for men and for women. A maximum stand height (the distance from the snow to the sole of the boot) of was also established for all disciplines. In May 2006, the FIS announced further changes to the rules governing equipment. Beginning with the 2007–08 season, the minimum radius for GS skis was increased to for men and for women. Additionally, the minimum ski width at the waist was increased from , and the maximum stand height for all disciplines was reduced to . The best skiers tended to use a bigger sidecut radius, like
Ted Ligety Theodore Sharp Ligety (born August 31, 1984) is a retired 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 gi ...
at , and
Lindsey Vonn Lindsey Caroline Vonn ( ; born October 18, 1984) is an American former World Cup alpine ski racer on the US Ski Team. She won four World Cup overall championships — second only amongst female skiers to Annemarie Moser-Pröll — with three ...
at . For the 2012–13 season, the FIS increased the sidecut radius to and the minimal length to . Many athletes criticized this decision. Often David Dodge was cited. Dodge argues that FIS used studies which do not represent a scientific proof. He states that it is well known that if one tips the ski 7° more the 35 m ski will have the same turning radius as the 28 m ski. He states as well that knee injuries are decreasing since the 1990s, when carving skis started to be used.


History

The first giant slalom was set in 1935 on the
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in Italy, over
Lake Maggiore Lake Maggiore (, ; it, Lago Maggiore ; lmo, label=Western Lombard, Lagh Maggior; pms, Lagh Magior; literally 'Greater Lake') or Verbano (; la, Lacus Verbanus) is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps. It is the second largest la ...
, near
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, on January 20. After one month, the second giant slalom was set on the
Marmolada Marmolada ( Ladin: ''Marmolèda''; German: ''Marmolata'', ) is a mountain in northeastern Italy and the highest mountain of the Dolomites (a section of the Alps). It lies between the borders of Trentino and Veneto. The Marmolada is an ultra-p ...
in Italy's
Dolomite mountains The Dolomites ( it, Dolomiti ; Ladin: ''Dolomites''; german: Dolomiten ; vec, Dołomiti : fur, Dolomitis), also known as the Dolomite Mountains, Dolomite Alps or Dolomitic Alps, are a mountain range located in northeastern Italy. They form par ...
, by Guenther Langes. The giant slalom was added to the
world championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
in 1950 at
Aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the ''Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China ...
,
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, and debuted at the
Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...
in 1952 at
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,
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
, run at
Norefjell Norefjell is a mountain range in the Scandes Mountains system in Norway. It stretches between the valleys of Eggedal (west) and Hallingdal (east). It covers parts of the municipalities Flå, Sigdal, and Krødsherad, all in the county Busker ...
. The GS has been run in every world championships and Olympics since. Originally a one-run event, a second run was added for men at the world championships in 1966, run on consecutive days, and at the Olympics in 1968. The second run for women was added at the world championships in
1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...
, and made its Olympic debut in
1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...
. The world championships changed to a one-day format for the giant slalom in
1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...
, but the Olympics continued the GS as a two-day event through 1980. Also scheduled for two days in
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
, both giant slaloms became one-day events after repeated postponements of the downhills. Following the extra races added to the program in
1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...
, the GS has been scheduled as a one-day event at the Olympics. Upon its introduction, giant slalom briefly displaced the combined event at the world championships; it was absent in 1950 and 1952. The combined returned in
1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...
in
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,
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
, but as a "paper race," using the results of the three events (downhill, giant slalom, and slalom), a format used through
1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...
. The combined returned as a stand-alone event at the world championships in
1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...
at
Schladming Schladming is a small former mining town in the northwest of the Austrian state of Styria that is now a popular tourist destination. It has become a large winter-sports resort and has held various skiing competitions, including most notably the F ...
,
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, and at the 1988
Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...
Olympics. It was changed to the super-combined format (one run of slalom on same day as downhill) at the world championships in
2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
and the Olympics in
2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
.


Men's World Cup podiums

In the following table men's giant slalom World Cup podiums from the World Cup first edition in 1967.


Men's most podiums in World Cup

Racers with the most
World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
podiums in giant slalom. : :Totals through 19 December 2022


Women's World Cup podiums

In the following table women's giant slalom World Cup podiums from the World Cup first edition in 1967.


See also

* List of Olympic medalists in men's giant slalom * List of Olympic medalists in women's giant slalom * List of Paralympic medalists in men's giant slalom * List of Paralympic medalists in women's giant slalom * List of World Champions in giant slalom


References


External links

* {{Authority control Alpine skiing Italian inventions Games and sports introduced in 1935 fr:Ski alpin#Slalom géant