№ 1641-1646. The XXII Olympic Winter Games in Sochi 2014. Winter Olympic Sports

Alpine skiing – The program of the Olympic Alpine competition consists of downhill, slalom, giant slalom, super giant slalom and super combined – all of them involve both men and women. The peculiarities of the competitions are defined by the characteristics of tracks – such as length, trajectory and distance between “the gates”. 

Luge is one of the most extreme Olympic winter sports. It involves sliding at high speeds on single- or two-person sleds on a specially built track with artificial freezing of ice. The athlete starts in a sitting position and after the pushing off the participant lies supine. The sled is steered by changing the athlete’s center of gravity

Skeleton is a descent down a special track with artificial freezing ice in a skeleton (a sled with tubular sledges on a reinforced frame). Olympic skeleton competition lasts for two days. Each athlete runs four times. The winner is the one whose total time (in all four runs) is minimal.

Speed skating – In the speed skating the athletes should overcome a specified distance as fast as possible. The classical length of the rink is 400 m. The program of speed skating at the Olympic Games consists of ten individual distances and two team pursuits.

Snowboarding is a discipline of the skiing. The program of snowboard at the Olympic Games consists of half-pipe, parallel giant slalom, boarder-cross as well as new kinds of competitions in the Olympic program – slope style and parallel slalom. 10 sets of medals are contested among the men and women altogether.

 

Freestyle is one of the disciplines of skiing. The program of freestyle at the Olympic Games consists of moguls, aerials, ski cross, half-pipe and slope style. The half-pipe and slope style were added to the Olympic program in 2011. Both men and women participate in each kind of competitions.