super-G

Super-G was run as a World Cup test event during the 1982 season, with two men's races and a women's race that did not count in the season standings.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=FaMyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=gu4FAAAAIBAJ&pg=1554,1247516|newspaper=Ottawa Citizen|agency=Associated Press|title=Cindy Nelson winner of new super slalom|date=March 24, 1982|page=31 }}

Approved by the International Ski Federation (FIS) that summer, it was first officially run at the World Cup level in December 1982 at Val-d'Isère, France; the winner was Peter Müller of Switzerland. The first official women's super-G was run a month later in early January 1983, with consecutive events at Verbier, Switzerland. The first winner was Irene Epple of West Germany, and Cindy Nelson of the United States won the next day on a different course.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=iKgyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3OcFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2810,4573323|newspaper=Gettysburg Times|agency=Associated Press|title=Nelson takes super giant ski slalom title|date=January 11, 1983|page=8}}

These were the only two races for women in super-G during the 1983 season; the men had three. The event was not universally embraced during its early years,{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=G3hkAAAAIBAJ&sjid=EH8NAAAAIBAJ&pg=1428,206649|newspaper=Calgary Herald|last=Wood|first=Larry|title=Super-G inspires a super yawn|date=March 11, 1985|page=C1}} which included a boycott by two-time defending overall champion Phil Mahre in December 1982.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XPxLAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ne4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=2914,3806602|newspaper=Spokesman-Review|agency=Associated Press|title=Downhill specialist wins World Cup 'super-G'|date=December 23, 1982|page=26}}{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=uEJYAAAAIBAJ&sjid=e_kDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4945,2833103 |newspaper=Spokane Chronicle|agency=(Boston Globe)|title=As season finishes, brothers Mahre find skiing kind of a drag|last=Chamberlain|first=Tony|date=March 9, 1983|page=C4}}

For the first three seasons, super-G results were added into the giant slalom discipline for the season standings; it gained separate status for a crystal globe for the 1986 season with five events for both men and women; the first champions were Markus Wasmeier and Marina Kiehl, both of West Germany.

It was added to the World Championships in 1987, held at Crans-Montana, Switzerland. Swiss skiers Pirmin Zurbriggen and Maria Walliser won gold medals to become the first world champions in the event. Super-G made its Olympic debut in 1988 in Calgary, where Franck Piccard of France and Sigrid Wolf of Austria took gold at Nakiska.

Hermann Maier of Austria (nicknamed 'The Herminator') is widely regarded as the greatest male super-G racer, with 24 World Cup victories and five World Cup titles (1998–2001, 2004). He won the world championship in 1999 and an Olympic gold medal in 1998, three days after a crash in the downhill.

Maier's proficiency in super-G was attributed to his thorough course inspection and his aggressive course tactics; he opted for the most direct and dangerous line down the hill. A serious motorcycle accident in August 2001 nearly resulted in an amputation of his lower right leg and sidelined him for the 2002 season, including the 2002 Olympics. After his return to the World Cup circuit in January 2003, Maier won eight more World Cup super-G events and his fifth season title in 2004.

Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway is second on the list with 17 wins in World Cup super-G races, Kjetil Jansrud third with his 13 wins. Svindal won Olympic gold in 2010 and his fifth season title in 2014

Pirmin Zurbriggen won four consecutive season titles (1987–90) and was the first world champion of this discipline in 1987.

Kjetil André Aamodt of Norway, a triple gold medalist in Olympic super-G races, winning in 1992, 2002 and 2006. Aamodt won five World Cup races and two world championship medals (silver and bronze) in the discipline.

Marc Girardelli of Luxembourg, a five-time overall World Cup champion, won nine World Cup super-G events. He won season titles in every discipline except super-G, where he was a runner-up three times. Girardelli was the silver medalist in the super-G at the 1987 World Championships and the 1992 Olympics.

Lindsey Vonn of the U.S. leads with 28 World Cup victories in super-G and has won five season titles (2009–2012, 2015).

Lara Gut-Behrami of Switzerland has won 24 World Cup races, six season titles (2014, 2016, 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025), and a Gold medal in the event at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Katja Seizinger of Germany won five season titles in the 1990s, with 16 World Cup wins in the discipline.

Neither Vonn and Seizinger have won gold in the super-G at the Olympics (both won a bronze) while Gut-Behrami has. However all three of them have won a world title, Vonn in 2009, Gut-Behrami in 2021 and Seizinger in 1993.

Renate Götschl of Austria won 17 World Cup events in super-G, three season titles, and two medals (silver and bronze) in the world

championships.

The vertical drop for a Super-G course must be between {{convert|350|-|650|m|abbr=on}} for men, {{convert|350|-|600|m|abbr=on}} for women, and {{convert|250|-|450|m|abbr=on}} for children.

In the Olympic Winter Games, FIS World Ski Championships, and FIS World Cups, minimums are raised to {{convert|400|m|abbr=on}} for both men and women. Courses are normally at least {{convert|30|m|abbr=on}} in width, but sections with lower widths are permissible if the line and terrain before and after allow it. Higher widths can also be required if deemed necessary. Gates must be between {{convert|6|m|abbr=on}} and {{convert|8|m|abbr=on}} in width for open gates, and between {{convert|8|m|abbr=on}} and {{convert|12|m|abbr=on}} in width for vertical gates. The distance between turning poles of successive gates must be at least {{convert|25|m|abbr=on}}. The number of direction changes must be at least 7% of the course drop in meters (6% for Olympic Winter Games, FIS World Ski Championships and FIS World Cups).{{cite web|url=http://www.fis-ski.com/mm/Document/documentlibrary/AlpineSkiing/09/72/66/2013icrkangwonlandupdate_Neutral.pdf|title=The International Ski Competition Rules, Book IV, Joint Regulations for Alpine Skiing|access-date=2017-11-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215122001/http://www.fis-ski.com/mm/Document/documentlibrary/AlpineSkiing/09/72/66/2013icrkangwonlandupdate_Neutral.pdf|archive-date=2017-12-15|url-status=dead}}

In an attempt to increase safety, the 2004 season saw the FIS impose minimum ski lengths for the super-G for the first time: to {{convert|205|cm|in|1|abbr=on}} for men and {{convert|200|cm|in|1|abbr=on}} for women. The minimum turning radius was increased to {{convert|45|m|abbr=on}} for the 2014 season.

Men

The following table contains the men's Super-G (from 2007 Super combined) World Cup podiums since the first edition in 1986.

Women

Men

|{{flagicon|AUT}} Hans Knauß

|-

| align="center" |2001 WCH

|

|{{flagicon|USA}} Daron Rahlves

|{{flagicon|AUT}} Stephan Eberharter

|{{flagicon|AUT}} Hermann Maier

|-

| align="center" |2002 WOG

|{{flagicon|SUI}} F. Zueger

|{{flagicon|NOR}} Kjetil André Aamodt

|{{flagicon|AUT}} Stephan Eberharter

|{{flagicon|AUT}} Andreas Schifferer

|-

| align="center" |2003 WCH

|{{flagicon|NOR}} M. Arnesen

|{{flagicon|AUT}} Stephan Eberharter

|{{flagicon|USA}} Bode Miller

|{{flagicon|AUT}} Hermann Maier

|-

| align="center" |2005 WCH

|{{flagicon|NOR}} M. Arnesen

|{{flagicon|USA}} Bode Miller

|{{flagicon|AUT}} Michael Walchhofer

|{{flagicon|AUT}} Benjamin Raich

|-

| align="center" |2006 WOG

|{{flagicon|AUT}} A. Evers

|{{flagicon|NOR}} Kjetil André Aamodt

|{{flagicon|AUT}} Hermann Maier

|{{flagicon|SUI}} Ambrosi Hoffmann

|-

| align="center" |2007 WCH

|{{flagicon|SUI}} H. Flatscher

|{{flagicon|ITA}} Patrick Staudacher

|{{flagicon|AUT}} Fritz Strobl

|{{flagicon|SUI}} Bruno Kernen

|-

| align="center" |2009 WCH

|{{flagicon|ITA}} G. L. Rulfi

|{{flagicon|SUI}} Didier Cuche

|{{flagicon|ITA}} Peter Fill

|{{flagicon|NOR}} Aksel Lund Svindal

|-

| align="center" |2010 WOG

|{{flagicon|ITA}} G. L. Rulfi

|{{flagicon|NOR}} Aksel Lund Svindal

|{{flagicon|USA}} Bode Miller

|{{flagicon|USA}} Andrew Weibrecht

|-

| align="center" |2011 WCH

|{{flagicon|SUI}} H. Flatscher

|{{flagicon|ITA}} Christof Innerhofer

|{{flagicon|AUT}} Hannes Reichelt

|{{flagicon|CRO}} Ivica Kostelić

|-

| align="center" |2013 WCH

|{{flagicon|NOR}} T. Moger

|{{flagicon|USA}} Ted Ligety

|{{flagicon|FRA}} Gauthier de Tessières

|{{flagicon|NOR}} Aksel Lund Svindal

|-

| align="center" |2014 WOG

|{{flagicon|FRA}} P. Morisod

|{{flagicon|NOR}} Kjetil Jansrud

|{{flagicon|USA}} Andrew Weibrecht

|{{flagicon|USA}} Bode Miller

|-

| align="center" |2015 WCH

|{{flagicon|AUT}} F. Winkler

|{{flagicon|AUT}} Hannes Reichelt

|{{flagicon|CAN}} Dustin Cook

|{{flagicon|FRA}} Adrien Théaux

|-

| align="center" |2017 WCH

|{{flagicon|ITA}} A. Ghidoni

|{{flagicon|CAN}} Erik Guay

|{{flagicon|NOR}} Kjetil Jansrud

|{{flagicon|CAN}} Manuel Osborne-Paradis

|-

| align="center" |2018 WOG

|{{flagicon|ITA}} A. Ghidoni

|{{flagicon|AUT}} Matthias Mayer

|{{flagicon|SUI}} Beat Feuz

|{{flagicon|NOR}} Kjetil Jansrud

|-

| align="center" |2019 WCH

|{{flagicon}}

|{{flagicon|ITA}} Dominik Paris

|{{flagicon|FRA}} Johan Clarey
{{flagicon|AUT}} Vincent Kriechmayr

|{{flagicon}} None awarded

|-

| align="center" |2021 WCH

|{{flagicon}}

|{{flagicon|AUT}} Vincent Kriechmayr

|{{flagicon|DEU}} Romed Baumann

|{{flagicon|FRA}} Alexis Pinturault

|-

|-

| align="center" |2022 WOG

|{{flagicon}}

|{{flagicon|AUT}} Matthias Mayer

|{{flagicon|USA}} Ryan Cochran-Siegle

|{{flagicon|NOR}} Aleksander Aamodt Kilde

|}

Women

WOG - Winter Olympic Games, WCH - FIS World Ski Championships

{{div col|colwidth=28em}}

• Alpine skiing combined
• Downhill
• Giant slalom
• Slalom
• Skiing and skiing topics
• List of Olympic medalists in men's super-G
• List of Olympic medalists in women's super-G
• List of Paralympic medalists in men's super-G
• List of Paralympic medalists in women's super-G
• List of world champions in super-G

{{div col end}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Super-G skiing}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070930080114/http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/610.html?sector=AL&raceid=9906 FIS-Ski.com] - results of first World Cup Super G race - Val-d'Isère- Dec-1982

{{skiing}}

Category:Alpine skiing

Category:Games and sports introduced in 1982