Speed ​​skiing

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Speed skiing , often with the English word speed skiing (ing) refers, is an extreme sport in which athletes on skis specially prepared slope down now, and about to try the highest possible speeds to achieve.

history

The first high-speed ski competitions were held in the 1930s. The Austrian Gustav Lantschner set the first official record at 105 km / h in St. Moritz. A year later Leo Gasperl improved the record to 136.6 km / h. In 1978 Steve Mc Kinney (USA) broke the 200 km / h mark in Chile. However, official statistics under the new term have only been kept since 1982.

The 1980s belonged to an Austrian: between 1980 and 1985, speed ski legend Franz Weber became world champion six times and improved the world record four times. In 1999 Harry Egger from Tyrol set a new record with a speed of 248.1 km / h that lasted for three years. Philippe Goitschel was the first speed skier to break the 250 km / h mark. Ivan Origone (ITA) set the current world record of 254.958 km / h on March 26, 2016 in Vars .

Speed skiing is practiced exclusively as a competitive sport and as such is regulated by the International Ski Federation (FIS). The professional association (France Ski de Vitesse) also organizes regular competitions. Due to the high physical and technical demands, speed skiing is only practiced by a few women and men from 25 countries, mainly from the Alpine countries; it is very accident prone.

In 1992 speed skking was a demonstration sport at the Winter Olympics in Albertville . However, the competition was overshadowed by a fatal accident involving Swiss racing driver Nicolas Bochatay . However, the accident did not happen on the speed ski track, but on a public ski slope, where it collided with a snowcat . Shortly thereafter, the FIS set a speed limit for high-speed driving at 200 km / h for FIS races.

equipment

The athletes wear a tight-fitting, smooth racing suit made of coated polypropylene and an aerodynamically shaped sports helmet, which is sometimes widened to create the transition to the shoulders. The curved ski poles cling to the contours of the body during a racing squat. The tapering extensions behind the calves and ski boots create streamlined cross-sections on the legs , thus avoiding vortices. The skis are extra wide compared to normal skis and are between 2.25 and 2.40 meters long. The optimal posture when driving down is worked out beforehand in the wind tunnel ; it determines (under given external conditions) the speed a driver reaches.

Competitions and slopes

The slopes can only be climbed with crampons on foot. - In addition, the slopes must be extremely flat so that the athletes do not take off. At the end of the runway there is a 100 m measuring section with a light barrier, on which the speed reached is determined.

The routes are up to one kilometer long, 25 m wide and have a high gradient - the steepest slopes have a gradient of up to 112% (48 degrees) at the start. The difference in altitude between the start and the measuring section is between 200 and 500 meters. The athlete records speed on the first 300-400 meters of the route, which is measured on the following 100-meter section (the time measuring zone). Thus the sporting comparison is secured. The fastest athlete wins the competition. The last 200–600 meters of the course serve as a braking zone. At FIS events, the racing courses are designed so that the 200 km h limit is not exceeded. Since 2009 the FIS has been able to issue a permit for speeds over 200 km / h in exceptional cases. There is no route given by gates in speed skiing, the piste is used in the fall line. In some record attempts, the runners start from an artificial ramp to extend the run-up. There are around 50 homologated speed ski runs around the world.

On March 26, 2016, new records were set at the Speed ​​Masters in Vars : men's world records by Ivan Origone (254.958 km / h) and women's Valentina Greggio (247.083), both from Italy. Klaus Schrottshammer improved the Austrian record to 248.447 km / h after 17 years.

The specially prepared slopes are also used for speed record attempts in other sports, e.g. B .:

In 2006 there were the following 20 internationally recognized speed skiing racetracks around the world

FIS World Cup

The Speed ​​Ski World Cup is an international competition in speed skiing organized by the International Ski Federation (FIS). The World Cup has been held between January and April every year since 1989. The races take place in Europe and North America.

Classes

There are three classes: Speed ​​1 (S1, also classic or professional class), Speed ​​Downhill (SDH, also Production or Downhill class) and Speed ​​Downhill Junior (SDH Junior). In the Speed ​​1 class you ski with a special helmet, spoilers, special suit and 240 cm skis and in the downhill class you ski with normal downhill equipment. Athletes aged 15 to 20 can participate in the junior classes. The distribution of points is the same in all classes as in the Alpine World Cup: 100 points for the winner, 80, 60, 50, 45, 40, 36, 32, 29, 26, 24, 22, 20, 18, 16, 15, 14 etc. .

mode

The athletes compete against each other on the specially prepared slopes. In the World Cup, there is no route inspection like in the alpine competitions, but free training. The race management selects the starting point for the free practice so that 160 km / h cannot be exceeded. The starting point is moved up after each run in order to increase the speed significantly.

The first races serve for qualification. The slowest drivers are eliminated. There is also a so-called technical cut, in which unsafe drivers are eliminated. The semifinals and the finals follow after the race or qualification runs. It is started in the reverse order, so the fastest starts last. In the finals, the highest starting point is used to achieve the fastest speed. It can be fought in two ways: the athletes have two rounds; the travel times are added or two speed runners start in parallel, the better one wins (knockout system).

World cup and crystal ball

In the Speed ​​Ski World Cup there is a small crystal ball for the best woman and the best man, the one known from the Alpine Ski World Cup. In theory, the Speed ​​Ski World Cup can also be won by an SDH driver. In practice, however, this is unlikely, as the material used by an SDH driver is significantly slower than in the S1 class. At the end of the season, the FIS publishes an overall speed ski World Cup list for the S1 class and a secondary list for the SDH categories. For the best SDH driver there is the Häkkinen Cup for men and the Taplin Cup for women.

Speed ​​comparison with other disciplines

The descent speed of 255 km / h achieved with speed skiing can be achieved - purely gravity-driven and vertical - with an optimal posture when skydiving in free fall. A record of 557 km / h was reached in speed skydiving at an altitude of 2700–1700 m and 1343 km / h in the stratospheric jump.

Airborne wingsuit can fly 130 km / h horizontally with a 40–50 km / h sink rate, a small paraglider for speed flying up to 120 km / h horizontally.

The maximum speed for tobogganing on an ice rink is 160 km / h.

Rolling downhill was 210 km / h on a mountain bike, 157 km / h on tobogganing , 130 km / h on a skateboard (standing) and at least 90 km / h on inline skates and 103 km / h on street skis. reached.

Downhill unicycling is referred to as high speed gliding , which is faster than pedaling - without a gearbox - would be possible. It takes a lot of experience to maintain the front-back balance by braking with a shoe sole on the tire. The top speed reported is 41.2 km / h (25.6 mph).

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Record flood in speed skiing. ORF , March 26, 2016, accessed on March 27, 2016 .
  2. ↑ sport.orf.at Record flood in speed skiing, world records in Italian hands, orf.at, March 26, 2016, accessed March 26, 2016.
  3. ↑ SkiMagazin (2001)
  4. ↑ TV N24 , December 29, 2003: Extreme technology .
  5. ↑ Homepage fis-ski.com
  6. ↑ ADAC Special: Ski 2006 .
  7. ↑ 210.4 km / h: Markus Stöckl sets a new speed record for series bikes, mtb-news.de, September 22, 2007, accessed March 27, 2016.
  8. ↑ Fastest skateboard speed downhill (standing) , Guinness Book of Records, June 18, 2012, accessed March 27, 2016. - Mischo Erban, Canada, Quebec, Les Éboulement.
  9. ^ New Skateboarding World Speed ​​Record of 130.08 km / h (80.83 mph), Igsa WorldCup , September 30, 2010 , accessed March 27, 2016. - Mischo Erban, Colorado, USA.
  10. ↑ Inline skates Speed ​​Record - Inline skiing World Record (1999, Arzona; Graham Wilkie and Jeff Hamilton), Graham Wilkie , youtube.com, video (01:52), May 23, 2012, accessed March 27, 2016. - Street skiing Pair, almost 1 m long, each with 6 small rollers inline. Aerodynamic helmet and suit and poles. 64 mph = 103 km / h.
  11. ↑ Glide-O-Rama, 25 mph on one wheel! High Speed ​​Gliding (HSG) page. Around 2000. Retrieved March 27, 2016.