Illustrated Winter Olympic Technology | The first gold medal in alpine skiing was born! Why is this event called the "extreme" of extreme sports?

||||

Written by reporter Zhao Tianyu Edited by Chen Yongjie

New Media Editor/Fang Yongzhen

Scientific review:

Hu Bin (Dean and Professor of the Winter Olympics Training Institute of Beijing Sport University)

At 12:00 noon on February 7, the men's downhill skiing competition of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, which was postponed due to weather conditions, finally started in the speed zone of the National Alpine Skiing Center in Yanqing. After a lightning-fast race on the snow, Swiss athlete Feuerze won the gold medal in 1 minute 42.69 seconds, which is also the first gold medal of alpine skiing in the Beijing Winter Olympics. French athlete Clare won the silver medal in 1 minute 42.79 seconds, and Austrian star Matthias Meyer won the bronze medal in 1 minute 42.85 seconds. Norwegian athlete Seysted created the fastest speed of the game, with an instantaneous speed of 139.71 kilometers per hour.

Chinese athlete Xu Mingfu finished the race successfully with a time of 1 minute 56.93 seconds, ranking 36th, witnessing the history of the Chinese alpine skiing team's first participation in the Winter Olympics men's alpine skiing downhill competition.

▲Alpine skiing men's downhill competition venue

Many people may have noticed that at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics held on the evening of February 4, especially during the athletes' entrance ceremony, the "alpine skiing" event was repeatedly mentioned, and even became the "only" event for many delegations. According to statistics, among all 91 delegations registered to participate in the Winter Olympics, 83 delegations have athletes participating in the alpine skiing event, accounting for more than 90% of the participation rate, and 16 alpine skiers became the only athletes participating in the Winter Olympics in their country.

❄ ❄ ❄

Why is alpine skiing so popular? Is the barrier to entry low?

One of the reasons is that alpine skiing has a long history, and compared with other snow sports, more countries have participated. Alpine skiing originated in the Alps region of Europe, so it is also called Alpine skiing. Alpine skiing is one of the basic snow sports. It has been included in the Winter Olympics since 1936 and is known as the "crown jewel of the Winter Olympics." Moreover, alpine skiing uses skis, snowshoes, bindings and ski poles as the main equipment, and is a sport of "sliding down" from the mountain to the bottom of the mountain. This determines that the entry threshold of alpine skiing is relatively low, and many countries without snow can also participate.

In addition, alpine skiing covers many events and can accommodate a large number of participants. Taking the Beijing Winter Olympics as an example, alpine skiing has a total of 11 events, including downhill, super-G, giant slalom, slalom and all-around for men and women respectively. All are individual events. In addition, there are mixed team events with strong compatibility.

Another important reason why alpine skiing is equally distributed is the "quota system" in the allocation of quotas. Traditionally, countries such as Northern Europe and North America are strong in alpine skiing. In order to prevent them from encroaching on other countries' opportunities to participate and causing monopoly, the International Ski Federation restricts the quotas of strong countries. While "suppressing the strong", the International Ski Federation will also "help the weak", that is, allocating Winter Olympic qualification to each country, region and association. As long as the country, region and association that develops this project and participates in the International Ski Federation events can obtain the qualification, which means that everyone who sees it will get a share.

However, the athletes who participate in the competition with quotas can basically only participate in slalom and giant slalom. It is difficult to find these athletes in the more difficult downhill and super giant slalom events. Below, we will use a graphic to understand the alpine skiing event, which is known as the "extreme" of extreme sports.

❄ ❄ ❄

Alpine skier in a slalom

How much force does the body have to withstand?

Starting from the top of the mountain, skiing down, turning, sliding with poles, passing through gates, and finally reaching the finish line is a test of skiing skills and a display of extreme speed, while being in harmony with nature. This is the most famous event in the Winter Olympics - alpine skiing.

▲Super Giant Slalom in alpine skiing (Photo source: Xinhua News Agency)

Alpine skiing originated in the European Alps, so it is also called "Alpine skiing". It was first listed as a Winter Olympic event in 1936. The Beijing Winter Olympics alpine skiing competition is divided into men's and women's downhill, super giant slalom, giant slalom, slalom, all-around and team events, with a total of 11 gold medals. The competition will be held at the National Alpine Skiing Center in Yanqing, Beijing - "Xue Feiyan".

Downhill skiing is a fast slide on a flat track without continuous ups and downs, but with a large drop and a long distance. After correctly passing the specified track checkpoints, the athlete with the shortest time wins, and the final ranking is determined by one slide.

▲Yanqing National Alpine Skiing Center (Photo source: Xinhua News Agency)

Slalom, giant slalom and super-G test the players' skills and speed, requiring them to slide through the marked gates in a zigzag pattern and slide down the slope quickly. The difference is that the gates of the giant slalom are more than 10 meters wider than those of the slalom, and the flags are quadrilateral (the slalom is triangular).

The super-G is a competition in which the athlete glides in a zigzag shape on a track with steep and natural turns, passes through 30-35 gates consisting of two flagpoles of the same color, and quickly slides down the slope. It has a large vertical drop and has higher requirements for speed and technique. It is the most difficult sub-event.

▲The gravitational acceleration that alpine skiers have to bear reaches 3.5G (Photo source: Xinhua News Agency)

Because of its high technical difficulty and complex and varied movements, alpine skiing is also considered the "extreme" among "extreme sports", especially in terms of "force", which requires professional training and is by no means within the reach of ordinary skiing enthusiasts.

In downhill skiing, the high elevation and almost curve-free route allow the speed to reach 130-170 kilometers per hour, which is considered to be a serious speeding on the highway. The athletes slide close to the ground, creating a strong sense of acceleration, even a feeling of flying, and at this speed, people have very little time to react.

The gravitational acceleration that alpine skiers have to withstand reaches 3.5G (G: gravitational acceleration, a physics term. The acceleration produced by gravity on a freely falling object is called gravitational acceleration), which exceeds the gravitational acceleration that astronauts withstand when the space shuttle takes off.

For an ordinary person who has not undergone rigorous training, when the G-force is too great, the blood in the body will reverse and concentrate from the bottom to the brain, causing congestion in the brain and endangering the microvessels. At the same time, the eyeballs will also be over-congested, making the incoming light appear blood-colored, which is called "red vision". If the G-force continues to increase, it may even cause fainting. This is a warning signal from the body's self-protection mechanism.

In slalom competitions, with undulating slopes and curved gates, athletes must not only pursue speed but also accurately control the direction of the turn to successfully pass the gates without breaking the rules. At this time, the athletes' thighs and knees are under great pressure.

When athletes enter a gentle slope from a steep slope, the huge centrifugal force causes the thighs to bear more than 400 kilograms of pressure, which is almost equivalent to the weight of an adult polar bear. The knees sometimes have to bear a 50-kilogram lateral torque. The lower limb joints sometimes have to bear a torque of 140 kilograms. This torque is almost equivalent to the torque of the snow groomer engine at the ski resort.

In summary, there are calculated data showing that when a downhill skater is turning at high speed, the exaggerated centrifugal force can make an 80kg skater feel like he weighs 270kg, which is almost equivalent to carrying more than three of himself while skating, while at the same time maintaining certain technical movements and paths.

Courage, skill and charm coexist, which is the most attractive part of alpine skiing. These athletes who challenge the impossible use their fearless courage to define the limits of human beings, which is perhaps why we love to watch this sport.

(This content is jointly produced by Beijing Science and Technology News and China Digital Science and Technology Museum, and some content comes from Lanba Sports)

Produced by: Science Central Kitchen

Produced by: Beijing Science and Technology News | Beijing Science and Technology Media

Welcome to share to your circle of friends