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 during the
1983 season and was added to the official schedule of the
World Championships in
1987 and the
Winter Olympics in
1988. Much like downhill, the other of the two "speed" events in alpine skiing, a super-G course consists of widely set gates that racers must turn around. The course is set so that skiers must turn more than in downhill, though the speeds are still much higher than in giant slalom (hence the name). Each athlete only has one run to clock the best time. In the Olympics, super-G courses are usually set on the same slopes as the downhill, but with a lower starting point.