Women
- Piste
- Piste Mont Lachaux
- Medals
- 18:30, Medal Plaza, Ycoor
SL · Technical
Slalom
SL · Technical
The shortest and most nervous discipline: dozens of tightly set gates, two runs, and the smallest mistake knocks you out.
6m
220m
2runs
1922
In motion
In 2027 in Crans-Montana
Men
- Piste
- Piste Mont Lachaux
- Medals
- in the finish area, after the race
AlsoFri 12 February: Women's slalom qualification · Sat 13 February: Men's slalom qualification (time not yet published)
How it works
- 01
Two runs on two different courses, on the same day. The total time decides.
- 02
Drop at the World Championships: 180 to 220 m for men, 140 to 220 m for women.
- 03
A gate is two single poles, no panel, alternately blue and red, 4 to 6 m wide. Between two turning poles: 6 to 13 m.
- 04
The course setter must include figures: hairpins (two gates one above the other), verticals of three or four gates, delay gates.
- 05
The poles are hinged and fold down when hit, so racers can cut close. One ski passing on the wrong side of a pole, a straddle, means disqualification.
For this discipline
- Start interval
- Irregular: the next racer may start before the previous one has finished
- Direction changes
- 30 to 35% of the vertical drop, give or take 3 (200 m drop: 60 to 70, give or take 3)
The vertical drop, to scale
The gates from above, to scale
Why it is worth watching
Everything happens fast and nothing forgives. The rhythm keeps changing between open gates, hairpins and verticals, and one wrong foot takes you off the course. At the 2026 Games, in falling snow, only 44 of 96 starters finished the men's first run.
A little history
On 21 January 1922 in Mürren, Arnold Lunn planted gates in the snow and had skiers race through them against the clock, with no style marks: the first slalom judged on time alone. The discipline was on the programme of the first world championships, in Mürren in 1931, and became a separate Olympic event in 1948.
Great moments
- 1987
Crans-Montana. Erika Hess wins the slalom; for the men, West Germany's Frank Wörndl beats Austria's Günther Mader by 19 hundredths.
- 1998
Crans-Montana. On 15 March, at the World Cup Finals, Alberto Tomba wins the slalom: his 50th and last victory, on the day he retired.
- 2025
Sestriere. Mikaela Shiffrin wins a slalom on 23 February and becomes the first to reach 100 World Cup wins.
- 2026
Milano Cortina Games. Switzerland's Loïc Meillard is Olympic slalom champion after the first-run leader, Atle Lie McGrath, makes a mistake in the second run.
In 1987 in Crans-Montana
Women
- 1Erika Hess1:33.30
- 2Roswitha Steiner+0.25
- 3Mateja Svet+1.09
Men
- 1Frank Wörndl1:54.63
- 2Günther Mader+0.19
- 3Armin Bittner+0.40
Saalbach 2025
Defending champions
The reigning world champions, crowned in Saalbach in February 2025. Names and codes as the FIS results database writes them.
Women
- 1RAST Camille1:58.00
- 2HOLDENER Wendy+0.46
- 3LIENSBERGER Katharina+1.32
Men
- 1MEILLARD Loic1:54.02
- 2MCGRATH Atle Lie+0.26
- 3STRASSER Linus+0.52
What to watch for
- 01
The slalom runs over a short drop: from the Barzettes stadium or the Vermala area at the top of the finish wall, you see much of the run.
- 02
Listen to the poles clatter. A steady rhythm means a clean run.
- 03
Hairpins and verticals are the traps: that is where racers lose time or straddle.
- 04
On Sunday 14 February the men's slalom closes the Worlds: second run at 13:30, then medals and the closing ceremony in the finish area.
Slalom
The quiz
Five questions, every answer is on this page.
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Do all eight quizzes to earn the Spectator's diploma.
Photo credits
- 01
- 02