Everything you need to know about the mixed team parallel slalom at Beijing 2022
Beijing 2022 will feature nine mixed events at the Winter Olympics. One of them will be the mixed team parallel slalom. But do you know what's involved? Find out everything you need to know before this unique Alpine skiing event takes place at Beijing 2022.
Alpine Skiing
To increase gender equality at the Games, mixed events have become a core element of the Olympic programme. At Beijing 2022, there will be nine mixed events including four new ones
At next year's Olympic Winter Games, the mixed team parallel slalom will once again be part of the Winter Olympic programme.
After its impressive debut at Pyeongchang 2018, this event will be the last alpine skiing event to take place at Beijing 2022 - and no one should miss it!
The mixed team parallel slalom format at Beijing 2022
The mixed team parallel slalom competition is slowly becoming a winter sports tradition. It has been a feature of the World Championships for over a decade and made its Olympic debut at PyeongChang 2018.
The format is the same as it was at the last Olympic Winter Games, with the 16 best teams in Alpine skiing seeded in a single-elimination bracket. The event begins with a round of 16, followed by quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final.
Each team may include up to six skiers and during every round, four skiers from each country - two men and two women - take on four skiers from another country. As with other parallel slalom competitions, two opponents ski at the same time on two identical courses, which sit side by side on the slope. The victor of each race wins one point for their team. If both skiers fall or miss a gate, the skier who progressed the farthest wins the point.
The country with the most points after the four races wins. If the score is 2-2, then the team with the best aggregate time wins.
How to follow the mixed team parallel slalom at Beijing 2022
The mixed team parallel slalom will be held on 19 February 2022. The round of 16 will take place at 11:00 am local time. Then, the quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals will follow. The final races of the day are expected to take place at 12:46 pm.
This event will take place at the National Alpine Ski Center in Yanqing.
Why is the mixed team parallel slalom so special?
In the landscape of Alpine skiing, the mixed team parallel slalom is a unique event. Take the intensity of a duel between two skiers racing side-by-side, add the emotion of a team event and then sprinkle in the excitement of this being the final Alpine skiing event of the Games, and you have all the ingredients for a can’t-miss race.
“I think it’s a really fun event. It’s new and we’re still working out the kinks. But both racing someone head-to-head and being able to train and race with the boys is super fun,” the USA’s Megan McJames told Reuters at PyeongChang 2018
“The course is short so you have to be more precise than the slalom and GS. It’s a cool event that should be continued,” said Michael Matt after winning the silver medal in PyeongChang.
Who to look out for in the mixed team parallel slalom at Beijing 2022?
Switzerland took the inaugural Alpine skiing team event title at PyeongChang 2018. In the final, Denise Feierabend, Daniel Yule, Wendy Holdener and Ramon Zenhaeusern defeated Austria. They will attempt to retain their title in Beijing.
However, there will be many contenders for the crown at next year’s Olympic Winter Games. Norway won this event at the 2021 World Championships and four years ago, they also took the bronze in PyeongChang.
Sweden and Germany also climbed onto the podium at the 2021 Worlds in Cortina d'Ampezzo and will attempt to stay there at the Olympics. And don’t sleep on France, who can count on 2021 Big Globe winner Alexis Pinturault among their ranks.