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speed skiing
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What is speed skiing?
Speed skiing is a competitive skiing event where skiers aim to achieve the fastest speed on a steep, straight track. They use special short skis, skintight suits, and aerodynamic helmets. Often called the "fastest nonmotorized sport on earth," it began in the 1930s as a promotional stunt in St. Moritz, Switzerland.
Racers use specialized equipment, including 2.4-meter skis weighing no more than 15 kg, fire-resistant suits, aerodynamic helmets, and fairings to minimize wind resistance. Though once almost exclusively male, women began participating in the 1960s.
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How do athletes compete in speed skiing?
In speed skiing, athletes aim to achieve the fastest speed on a steep, straight, meticulously prepared track using specialized equipment. They wear special short skis, skintight suits, and aerodynamic helmets.
Racers often adopt a crouched "tuck" position to minimize wind resistance. The Fédération Internationale de Ski (FIS) is the main governing body for speed skiing events. The expense of specialized equipment and the risk of extreme injury limits participation in speed skiing.
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What special equipment do speed skiers use?
Speed skiers use special equipment to achieve the fastest possible speeds on steep, straight tracks. This includes:
* Special short skis that are exactly 2.4 meters long, no wider than 10 cm, and weigh no more than 15 kg.
* Skintight, fire-resistant foam ski suits to prevent friction burns during falls.
* Fairings (little wings) attached to the suit behind the calves to reduce wind resistance.
* Aerodynamic helmets.The expense of the specialized equipment, along with the danger of extreme injury, limits speed skiing to a small segment of skiers. Many racers are former downhill skiers seeking the thrill of speed as they age but no longer have the reflexes for quick turning in competitive Alpine skiing.
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Why do speed skiers wear aerodynamic suits and helmets?
Speed skiers wear aerodynamic suits and helmets to minimize wind resistance and maximize speed on the course. These skintight suits and helmets help racers achieve the fastest possible velocity down a steep, straight track. Additionally, speed skiers use special equipment such as fire-resistant foam ski suits to avoid friction burns during a fall, and fairings (little wings) attached to the suit behind the calves to reduce wind resistance.
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What are some safety risks involved in speed skiing?
Speed skiing, often called the fastest nonmotorized sport, involves significant safety risks. Reaching speeds over 150 miles per hour, athletes face dangers that have even resulted in fatalities.
Despite safety measures and required crash helmets, the sport's inherent risks remain. The expense of specialized equipment, designed to reduce wind resistance and prevent friction burns, along with the potential for extreme injury, limits participation in speed skiing.
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How are speed skiing records measured and what are some notable achievements?
In speed skiing, racers aim for the fastest speed on a steep, straight track using specialized equipment. The Fédération Internationale de Ski (FIS) governs speed skiing events.
Speeds are clocked on meticulously prepared courses. Ski manufacturers use wind-tunnel tests to improve designs. In 1933, speeds of 85 miles (136 km) per hour were reached. American skiers were unofficially timed at nearly 108 miles (174 km) per hour, generating international interest. Italians then pushed the record to almost 109 miles (175 km) per hour in 1964. Later, speeds of over 125 miles per hour were attained by women. Men reached speeds exceeding 150 miles (240 km) per hour.
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speed skiing, competitive skiing event in which racers equipped with special short skis, skintight suits, and aerodynamic helmets compete to achieve the fastest speed on a steep, straight, and meticulously prepared track. A dangerous pastime, it is frequently billed as “the fastest nonmotorized sport on earth.”
Speed skiing began in the 1930s as an advertising stunt for a ski resort in St. Moritz, Switz. Racers experimented with cones that covered their backs from the helmet down, which presented a more streamlined and aerodynamic figure when a skier was crouched into a “tuck” position. Some racers skied with as much as 71 pounds (32 kg) of ballast on their skis to increase their acceleration. By 1933 speeds of 85 miles (136 km) per hour were being reached by skiers carrying such weights.
Ski manufacturers stood to gain economic advantage when their equipment produced the fastest speeds, and they began using wind-tunnel tests in search of better designs and to provide scientific evidence of their product’s superiority. The sport generated international interest when American skiers, training in South America, were unofficially timed at nearly 108 miles (174 km) per hour. After preparing specific courses in their home country (the most famous of which is at Cervinia), Italians pushed the record up to almost 109 miles (175 km) per hour in 1964. Americans returned to the fore in the 1970s and early ’80s with speeds up to about 125 miles (200 km) per hour.
Since the 1960s speed skiing has become a mix of amateur and professional sport in which men and women compete on a circuit of tracks around the world, though mostly in Europe. The main governing body for speed skiing events is the Fédération Internationale de Ski (FIS; International Ski Federation). As an advisory body to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), FIS has lobbied for the inclusion of speed skiing in the Olympic Winter Games. While the IOC wants to limit the speed of the skiers to about 125 miles per hour, such measures have proved controversial; in spite of several deaths in the sport, the top racers are adamantly opposed to such limits. The IOC sanctioned speed skiing as a demonstration event at the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville, France, but since then it has not appeared on the Olympic program.
Speed skiing was once nearly an exclusively male sport, but it began to attract women in the 1960s. In 1963 the women’s record stood at just over 89 miles (143 km) per hour, some 19 miles (30 km) per hour slower than the men’s record. In the 1970s and ’80s, as a result of women’s increased interest and participation in sport generally, and because of the growth of what is now called “extreme sports,” women took speeds to more than 125 miles per hour in the 1980s. Meanwhile, men reached speeds in excess of 150 miles (240 km) per hour, speeds which later were also attained by women.
Speed skis must be exactly 2.4 metres (about 7.8 feet) long, no wider than 10 cm (a little less than 4 inches), and weigh no more than 15 kg (33 pounds). Other special equipment includes fire-resistant foam ski suits to avoid friction burns during a fall, fairings (little wings) attached to the suit behind the calves to reduce wind resistance, and aerodynamic helmets. The expense of the specialized equipment, along with the danger of extreme injury, limits speed skiing to a small segment of skiers. Many of the racers are ex-downhillers who still want the thrill of speed as they age but no longer have the reflexes for the quick turning required in competitive Alpine skiing.