Why do understaffed delegations prefer alpine skiing? Is the threshold for this project low?
Haiti, the Philippines, Ghana, Ecuador... At the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics on the evening of the 4th, people found that some countries or regions with hot impressions also sent delegations to participate. Most of these delegations have only one or two athletes, and almost all of them participate in alpine skiing. Some netizens joked that alpine skiing may become the biggest "winner" of the opening ceremony.
On the evening of February 4, the opening ceremony of the XXIV Winter Olympic Games was held at the Beijing National Stadium. Alpine skier Sarah Escobar, the flag bearer of the Ecuadorian delegation, was the country's first female Winter Olympics athlete in the country's history. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Huang Zongzhi
The question arises: Why do delegations with fewer people prefer alpine skiing? Does this project that sounds imposing have a low threshold?
The snow sport with the highest number of registered people for the Winter Olympics
If given an imprecise definition, alpine skiing is a faster sport than who slides down from the mountain, without turning over, without obstacles, just needing to turn, who wins first to the finish line under the mountain.
Kang Hua, international referee of the International Ski Mountaineering Federation, said that skiing was originally a way of travel in snowy areas such as Northern Europe and Xinjiang, China, with high practicality but almost no entertainment. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the center of skiing shifted from Northern Europe to the Alps, and modern alpine skiing techniques developed in the nordic cross-country skiing. Later, all the tricks and variants of skiing can be said to be a branch of alpine skiing. Skiing, which beginners learn on the slopes, is also a basic technique for alpine skiing.
Therefore, in the skiing event, this project and cross-country skiing are well-deserved basic projects, but they are more interesting than cross-country skiing, and the mass base is easier to develop and consolidate.
In this Winter Olympic Games, there are 307 successful athletes registered for alpine skiing, which is the largest number of snow sports, and second only to ice hockey in 15 sub-events; athletes cover more than 80 countries and regions.
On February 3, the first training of the men's alpine skiing project at the Beijing Winter Olympics was held at the Yanqing National Alpine Ski Center in Beijing. The picture shows Italy's Matteo Marsalia in training. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Yichen
This is largely due to the IOC's intention to increase participation and participation in winter sports through the project, and its quota rules are relatively relaxed. All delegations have two basic places, one for one male and one for women, which can be obtained as long as someone meets the requirements for the entry of Olympic points. After the base quota is allocated, the rest is generated from high-level athletes around the world according to a series of rules.
Speed projects are still high barriers
Then the question arises again: if I come from a tropical country and the Winter Olympics are coming, I urgently find a snow field to train hard, compete globally to get points, and finally get the basic quota allocated by the International Olympic Committee, then can I participate in all the events?
Not really. There is a high probability that you are only qualified to participate in the slalom and the big slalom competition. Downhill and super big slalom, almost impossible.
In this Winter Olympic Games, there are 10 sub-events in alpine skiing. Men and women are divided into downhill, super big slalom, big slalom, slalom and all-around. The all-around ratio is still downhill and slalom, so what forms the basis of the Alpine Skiing Winter Olympic Games is the four sub-events such as downhilling.
Among them, the downhill and super big slalom are called "speed projects", and the big slalom and slalom are called "technical projects". The Fidesz International Snow Federation has higher requirements for the venue of the speed project, with long tracks and large drops. In the men's descent, which can be called the "trapeze war" on the snow, the track has a drop of at least 800 meters and a length of at least three kilometers. Athletes can even reach a top speed of more than 140 kilometers per hour.
This leads to: First, it is more difficult to find such a standard slope. The speed track of the National Alpine Ski Center in Yanqing is the first track in China that meets the standards of the Winter Olympics. In some areas where mountain resources are not abundant, even if it is cold enough, if the mountain is not high enough and the mountain is not large enough, there is no way. Second, people who are engaged in the difficulty and danger of the project, and who do not have training conditions, cannot reach the standard of participation in the Winter Olympics in the speed event in a short period of time.
On February 1, the National Alpine Ski Center in the Yanqing Area of the Beijing Winter Olympics held a full-factor drill. The picture shows a trial skater trying to skate on the track. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Lian Zhen
"The Firthia's requirements for the speed events of the Winter Olympics are higher than those for technical events, just for safety." Didier Difago, designer of the men's downhill track at the 2010 Winter Olympics and men's downhill champion at the 2010 Winter Olympics, said. Jamaican alpine skier Benjamin Alexander also said: "Even if there is an indoor snow field, it is impossible to build the kind of pistes that can support downhill training." ”
In this Winter Olympics, there is only one athlete and 15 delegations participating in alpine skiing, without exception, all participating in the slalom and slalom competitions. In addition, the experience of British player Dave Redding seems to prove that the flexibility of training in technical projects can be greater. He has been training in the indoor snow field, but at the age of 35, he won his first men's slalom World Cup and was a strong contender for medals in this Winter Olympics.