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Professional and Olympic skiing have many of the same roots and techniques, but the focus of the Olympic events is narrower than dedicated skiing events such as the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup. These dedicated events allow athletes to focus on much more technical parts of skiing (such as telemark skiing, which combines several events including a jump and a slalom, and which uses specialized skis attached only at the front). These differences, though valid for enthusiasts, would likely not be noticed by the Olympics’ much broader audience.

Olympic skiing is more reserved, because it focuses on the skill of the athlete rather than his marketability. There are several forms of olympic skiing, and although we will not list all of them, there are some broader categories that divide the sport.

Snowboarding has also been included in this section, because it uses many of the same techniques as skiing and takes place on similar terrain.

Slalom
Skiiers race on a winding downhill track, and must keep on the outside of flags which the track is formed around (the olympic colours are typically red and yellow). Notably, the rules are only concerned with the skiiers’ actual skis, so athletes will frequently whip their torsos into the flags to hug corners as tightly as possible.

Ski jumping
One of the few ski events that does not use poles, ski jumping is the practice of using an enormous ramp positioned on the side of a hill to fly as far forward as possible. Skiiers competing in this sport often position their skis in a V shape and twist their ankles upward as much as possible to glide better. Professionals can remain airborne for very long periods of time depending on the size of the ramp and the track leading to it.

Trick skiing
Similar to a slalom, but instead of competing for time, skiiers ski a track with two or three opportunities to perform tricks, which are graded by judges. At the olympic level, skiiers are often given a second attempt to average their scores and prevent outlier performances.

There are several different types of trick skiing, such as the halfpipe, or mixed tracks that feature rails and small ramps. The exact specifications vary from each Games to the next.

Cross-country skiing
A form of skiing that prioritizes endurance and consistency over alpine skiing’s blazing pace. Skiiers ski on flat round compared to alpine slopes, and races lengths are often multiple kilometres. The challenge comes from consistently pacing oneself rather than the barely controlled accident that is an alpine skiing run.

Biathlon
A form of cross-country skiing that combines the endurance of that sport with the precision of marksmanship: athletes ski for great distances (while carrying rifles) before making quick stops to fire at targets marked at specific distances. Because the events are timed, skiiers make these shots facedown in the show with their skis and poles still attached.

Biathlon is an interesting sport because it is one of the most visible remnants of the Olympic Winter Games’s roots as the Nordic Games, which existed around the turn of the 19th century. Few other countries had the right kind of environment for skiing and shooting, but in a Nordic or Scandinavian country, combining the two was often a matter of necessity if you wanted to eat.

Snowboarding
Snowboarding has many of the same broad goals as skiing, and many of the same goals (control the board, complete a challenge quickly, perform tricks to gain points from the judges, etc.). The sport first originated in 1965, and originated as a recreational activity in contrast to skiing, which has many practical applications for hunters and rescue personnel.

The most distinctive feature of snowboarding is as simple as it looks: athletes compete with two feet on a board instead of two skis. This allows them to be more stable than skiiers, and for amateurs to take up the sport with less work on their balance. Aside from the different stance, the sports are quite similar, and their Olympic events are also quite similar: athletes take part in races, trick competitions, and combinations thereof. There is no snowboarding equivalent of biathlon or ski jumping.

History
Skiing has been around as long as the Olympic Winter Games have existed. It is a popular and simple sport, which gives it enduring appeal for spectators and organizers alike.

Differences
[list any notable differences from the professional sports played the majority of the time]

Olympians
[mention any notable athletes who achieved success at the olympic games in this sport]

Olympic skating is a broad category, but the majority of events are speed skating and types of figure skating for solo and pairs events of varying lengths. With the beauty of dance and the precision of an icepick, figure skating is a visually dramatic sport – even if it can become too flambuoyant for its own good at times. Speed skating is much simpler, but remains appealing due to the startling speed of its competitors.

History
Funnily enough, skating and ice hockey were initially featured in the Olympic Summer Games before the Winter Games were recognized as a separate event. Thus, they are slightly older than other winter olympic sports, dating back to 1908.

Differences
Figure skating is the act of performing a dance while on skates; notably, figure skates are narrower than hockey or speed skates, and have a spur at the front of the blade to give the skater more control when balancing. There is some overlap with traditional ballet tricks such as pirouettes and spins, but there are many figure skating tricks unique to the sport.

The official olympic events are men’s singles, women’s singles, pair skating, and ice dance. The singles events are straightforward: the performer has a set amount of time to perform tricks while accompanied by music of his choosing. Pair skating is the same, but with two skaters working together. The ice dance, in addition to being the youngest type of figure skating at the olympics, is effectively ballroom dancing done on ice. This different tradition of performance gives it a much more intimate and condensed feeling compared to pairs skating.

Speed skating is the polar opposite of figure skating: competitors race around a track, aiming to go as fast as humanly possible on ice. The divisions of the sport resemble different types of track or velodome races, with different categories rangig from 500 metres (practically a sprint) to 5000 metre marathons. There are also relay and team events.

Speed skaters use specialized skates that have long, flat blades that give the skaters as much grip on the ice as possible without sacrificing velocity. Because speed skaters only ever turn left, the challenge to compete at an Olympic level comes from optimizing every single part of the ovoid track. On corners, this means leaning over the boundary line and practically skating while horizontal, before snapping back up to a wide, powerful stance to gain speed on the straightaways.

Short track events, especially team events, complicate things further: it’s possible to have eight skaters on the track at a single time, each of whom is jockeying for position at highway speeds of around 45km/h (or about 28mph). Passing on the corners is virtually impossible due to the additional distance traveled, so competitors must time their attacks perfectly or risk losing everything to a crash.

Olympians
[mention any notable athletes who achieved success at the olympic games in this sport]

Track and field are actually part of a larger subsection of “athletics” within the official Olympic documentation, but the layman’s idea of running and throwing things is still the most accurate label. The only difference is that some races take place on roads instead of tracks.

History
Running is one of the oldest human activities and can trace its roots all the way back to the ancient Olympics. Field events such as the javelin toss and discus throw are more obviously inspired by the ancient Greeks.

Differences
Rather than list each individual medal event, here you will find each category of track and field sports.
Track
– Sprinting: running distances under and including 800 metres
– Marathon: longer distances up to and including 10,000 metres (on a track) or a marathon (on a road)
– Hurdles / Steeplechase: sprinting and marathon running with obstacles on the track. Hurdles are waist-high, and steeplechase obstacles includes hurdles and jumps over water pits.
– Relay running: any of the longer distances above (not marathons), run by teams. Each team member runs a different leg of the race.
– Race walking: a long-distance only category run on roads wherein competitors must remain in contact with the ground at all times (as seen by the human eye). The supporting leg must remain straight until the lifted leg passes it.

Field
– High jump: Athletes jump over a horizontal bar without dislodging it; the bar is raised progressively higher in each round of competition. Interestingly, the techniques used to clear higher and higher bars have improved over the years. Initially, athletes had a standing start and used a jackknife jumping form. Later years allowed a running start, and the jumping form changed to a scissor kick, then a straddling method, then a western roll. Consult this video for visual reference. The current method is the Fosbury Flop, named after American athlete Dick Fosbury who pioneered the technique in Mexico City in 1968.

– Long jump: Athletes get a running start before jumping as far as possible into a pit of sand. In addition to the athleticism required, the scoring system affects jumpers’ techniques. Because the farthest back part of an athlete’s body is used as the measurement point, a proper athlete will land with his legs as far forward as possible, then rock forward to avoid falling on his bottom.

– Triple jump: Similar to the long jump, but the total distance is derived from a series of three jumps, each of which must be done in a specific manner. Also called the “hop, skip, and jump.” The hop must be launched and landed with a single leg, the skip must launch from the hop leg to the other leg, and the jump must be launched with both feet.

– Pole vault: Similar to the high jump, except athletes are given a long, flexible pole with which to propel themselves upwards.

– Shot put: The “shot” is a metal ball, and the “put” refers to competitors propelling it forward from an initial spot near the neck. The ball may only be released once it is above the shoulders. Distance is counted from the closest point of contact with the ground, rather than the ball’s final resting spot. Despite its archaic appearance, this sport does not date back to the original Olympic games. Instead, it more likely developed during the Middle Ages in England and Scotland, when soldiers would have competitions to see who could throw cannonballs farthest.

– Discus throw: A ancient sport wherein athletes throw a heavy disc called a discus as far as possible. As with the shot put, there are some rules which describe where the athlete may stand, but there are no restrictions on how the discus is thrown. Throwers primarily use a one-and-a-half spin overhand grip because it is most effective at transferring spinning momentum to the discus.

– Hammer throw: The hammer in this case is a metal ball on the end of a steel wire, rather than an actual hammer. Similarly to the discus throw, competitors spin inside an allotted area before releasing the hammer downfield. Performance is gauged from a series of throws to limit the effects of fouls and outliers.

– Javelin throw: A javelin is a type of spear, and although the contemporary Olympic model is not used for warfare, it still resembles the ancient Greek weapon it derives its name from. Competitors have a running start before throwing the javelin as downrange as possible. Interestingly, the ancient Greeks actually had a slight advantage because they threw the javelin with the help of a leather thong: modern competitors must rely entirely upon the strength of their hands.

– Decathlon/Heptathlon: As the name suggests, a decathlon is composed of ten smaller events and a heptathlon composed of seven, whose times and scores are averaged to determine final standings. Traditionally, men compete in the decathlon and women compete in the heptathlon, although as of 2001 women have their own 10-event format.

Mens decathlon
Day 1:
– 100 metres
– Long jump
– Shot put
– High jump
– 400 metres

Day 2:
– 110 metres hurdles
– Discus throw
– Pole vault
– Javelin throw
– 1500 metres

Womens decathlon
(Note that items such as the discus are smaller and lighter than the men’s.)
Day 1:
– 100 meters
– Discus throw
– Pole vault
– javelin throw
– 400 metres

Day 2:
– 100 metres hurdles
– Long jump
– Shot put
– High jump
– 1500 metres

Olympians
[mention any notable athletes who achieved success at the olympic games in this sport]