With two years to go before the opening of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, a ceremony to officially open the Jeongseon Alpine Center took place on Jan. 22.
The 2016 Audi FIS (International Ski Federation) Ski World Cup was held at the alpine center from Feb. 6 to 7 to test-run the new alpine slopes.
Construction began on the Jeongseon Alpine Center in May 2014. The center consists of an area covering 1.83 million sq. meters in Pukpyeong-myeon, Jeongseon-gun, and is capable of accommodating 6,500 spectators. It is to be dedicated in December 2017 at a cost of 172.3 billion won.
Dignitaries on hand at the opening ceremony included Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Kim Jong-deok; Chairman Cho Yang-ho of the Organization Committee of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics; Chairman Shin Dong-bin of the Korea Ski Association; and Gangwon Vice Governor Bae Jing-hwan.
In his commemorative speech, MCST Minister Kim said, “Now is the time the center of gravity of preparing the Games is shifting from facilities to operations.” Kim said that hosting the Olympic Games will take place “without a hitch” as other sport arenas are to be completed on schedule.
Chairman Cho of the Organization Committee expressed his excitement at the opening of the Jeongseon Alpine Center, saying that he never imagined he’d be so welcoming of the current cold spell.
Minister Kim had a separate meeting with Chairman Shin of the Korean Ski Association following the opening ceremony in which he called for the latter to provide support to ramp up Korean athletes’ capabilities so that they can win medals in the upcoming winter Olympiad. Minister Kim also asked Chairman Shin for Lotte Business Group to joint Korean sponsors of the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Games. Chairman Shin responded affirmatively to Minister Kim’s request, saying his group would aggressively participate in not only the Olympic Games, but also the test-run of the alpine center.
Carlos Janka of Switzerland grabbed the gold medal at the 2016 Audi FIS Ski World Cup Super-G race on Feb. 7, becoming the first winner at the new 2018 PyeongChang Olympic course. The Swiss skier’s record was 1 minute 26.16 seconds to earn his first-ever World Cup win in Super-G, beating Christof Innerhofer of Italy and Vincent Kriechmayr of Austria.
Janka collected both the Olympic gold medal in giant slalom at the Vancouver 2010 Games and the overall World Cup title in 2010, but had been far from the top of the podium this season until Sunday. Norwegian Kjetil Jansrud, the winner of the downhill race on the same course a day earlier, was among the 11 skiers who did not finish on Feb. 7.
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A skier slides down a newly opened slope of the Jeongseon Alpine Center during the 2016 Audi FIS Ski World Cup, an event to test-run the new slopes. (Photos:MCST. Organization Committee of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics)
About Alpine Skiing
Alpine skiing is a discipline where the skier slides down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed heel bindings.
It comprises two types of disciplines: the speed (velocity) events and the technical (skills) events. The speed events are Downhill and Super-G, and the technical events are Giant Slalom and Slalom. In addition to these, there is another event called Alpine Combined that is a mixture of Downhill and Slalom, making a total of five types of particular disciplines that make up the overall competition of alpine skiing.
If we list the events based on the average speed velocity, the order is Downhill->Super-G->Giant Slalom->Slalom, and if we list them according to the number of the gates based on technicality, the slower velocity of the events increases and they are listed in the opposite way.
Also, the Nation Team Event will be newly introduced to the Olympic program for the PyeongChang2018 Olympic Winter Games.
The Slalom is organized on a course that demands short and rapid turns. And the course of the Giant Slalom is organized on a track that has even more open Slalom widths. For the courses of the Super-G and the Slalom, the turns are small, and wide gates are installed in some sections. And, in the case of staging the Downhill, the average velocity of the athletes who pass a gate is around 100km per hour.
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