x
Breaking News
More () »

Skiing at the Winter Olympics: What is the Alpine combined?

At this point, we've watched the women's slalom, giant slalom, Super-G and downhill. Now competitors will ski the combined, which begs the question, how does that different from all the other skiing events?
Lindsey Vonn of the United States competes during the Ladies' Downhill on day 12 of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Jeongseon Alpine Centre on February 21, 2018.

Two of the biggest names in Alpine skiing will be going head-to-head for the first time in Pyeongchang in the women's combined event.

Team USA's Lindsey Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin are both looking for their second medals at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Shiffrin already took a gold in the giant slalom while Vonn won a bronze in the downhill.

WATCH: Lindsey Vonn oldest woman to win Olympic Alpine medal

At this point, we've watched the women's slalom, giant slalom, Super-G and downhill. Now competitors will ski the combined, which begs the question: How is that different from all the other skiing events?

First off, let's explain the difference between the other disciplines.

Downhill: Speed is key in the fastest Alpine skiing event. The goal is to get to the bottom of the course as fast as possible while staying within the course lines.

Slalom: The focus here is not so much speed as it is technical skiing. Skiers weave their way through gates placed close together on a course full of direction changes.

Giant Slalom: Same as slalom, but the course is longer and the gates aren't as close together.

Super G (super giant slalom): Speed and technical. The gates are farther apart on a course that winds more than one featured in the downhill.

So with those explained, the combined event is exactly what is sounds like. It's a combination of two of these events: downhill and slalom.

Skiers' times will be combined after one downhill run and one slalom run. The fastest combined time, obviously, wins the gold.

This will be the first meeting for Shiffrin, a slalom expert, and Vonn, a downhill legend, on the slopes in Pyeongchang after countless weather postponements jumbled the schedule, resulting in Shiffrin sitting out several events. She placed fourth in the slalom.

WATCH: Mikaela Shiffrin wins giant slalom gold

There will also be a team Alpine skiing event at the 2018 Winter Olympics which features teams consisting of two men and two women, racing against each other on parallel slalom courses.

USA Today Sports contributed to this report.

Before You Leave, Check This Out