Alpine skiing at the Olympics is a high-speed, technical sport where athletes race down snow-covered slopes on alpine skis. The sport features multiple disciplines, each testing a combination of speed, precision and agility. Competitors navigate through a series of gates, with the fastest times determining the winners.
Alpine skiing made its Olympic debut at the Olympic Winter Games Garmisch Partenkirchen 1936 in Germany, with the combined event featuring both downhill skiing and slalom. Over the years, additional disciplines were introduced, expanding the sport’s presence at the Games.
Team USA first competed in alpine skiing at the Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936 Winter Olympics in its debut year. Gretchen Fraser was the first Team USA athlete to win the gold medal in this sport at the Olympic Winter Games St. Moritz 1948, in the women’s alpine slalom category. Since then, American skiers have won multiple medals, with legends such as Lindsey Vonn, Bode Miller and Mikaela Shiffrin achieving success on the Olympic stage.
Alpine skiing at the Winter Olympics consists of five individual events: downhill, super-G, giant slalom, slalom and the combined event. Each discipline varies in course layout, speed and technical difficulty. The mixed team event, introduced in 2018, adds a head-to-head element to the program. The team combined event is a new addition to the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 and will make its first appearance at the 2025 FIS World Alpine Ski Championships.
Follow along the alpine skiiers' road to the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.
Check out all the events Team USA athletes will be competing in on the road to Milano Cortina 2026.
| name | sport | education | hometown | medals | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Alpine Skiing | Middlebury College '20, History | Woodside, CA | ||||||
 | Alpine Skiing | Westminster College | Tahoe City, CA | ||||||
 | Alpine Skiing | University of Vermont | Keene, NY | ||||||
 | Alpine Skiing | University of Utah | Strawberry, CA | ||||||
 David Chodounsky Alpine Skiing Olympian 2014, 2018 Crested Butte Academy (Crested Butte, Colo.) ‘03 Dartmouth College '08, Engineering and Earth Sciences Crested Butte, CO | Alpine Skiing | Crested Butte Academy (Crested Butte, Colo.) ‘03 Dartmouth College '08, Engineering and Earth Sciences | Crested Butte, CO | ||||||
 Ryan Cochran-Siegle Alpine Skiing Olympian 2018, 2022 University of Vermont Starksboro, VT Number of olympic medals this Athlete has won
| Alpine Skiing | University of Vermont | Starksboro, VT | Number of olympic medals this Athlete has won
| |||||
 Stacey Cook Alpine Skiing Olympian 2006, 2010, 2014 University of Reno, Nevada; DeVry University Mammoth Lakes, CA | Alpine Skiing | University of Reno, Nevada; DeVry University | Mammoth Lakes, CA | ||||||
 | Alpine Skiing | University of Utah | Salt Lake City, UT | ||||||
 | Alpine Skiing | University of Utah ‘15 | Truckee, CA | ||||||
 | Alpine Skiing | Dartmouth College ‘12 | Bend, OR | ||||||
Alpine skis vary by discipline, with longer skis used for speed events like downhill and shorter skis for technical events like slalom. Athletes also wear helmets, goggles, and specialized suits designed for aerodynamics and protection.
Courses are designed with specific gradients, gates and technical elements suited to each event. Slalom and giant slalom courses feature tightly spaced gates, while downhill skiing focuses on long, sweeping turns at high speeds.
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