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sports Tuesday 1 February 2022
Olympic athletes have 1 more thing to stress about: Weather

By HOWARD FENDRICH and speed needed to execute
PAT GRAHAM tricks.
AP Sports Writers "I feel like you'd be crazy if
Mikaela Shiffrin describes you weren't worried about
herself as "super control- that kind of thing," said
ling over everything that's freestyle halfpipe skier Car-
happening in my life," so ly Margulies, a 24-year-old
the two-time Olympic gold from California. "But at the
medalist is not all that fond end of the day, you kind of
of one particular can't-do- just have to push that out
a-thing-about-it aspect of (of mind)."
her chosen sport, Alpine ski- That's a common senti-
ing. ment.
"The weather," she said, "I'm not God, so I can't
"can literally change every- do anything about it. You
thing." have to (accept) the situa-
The 26-year-old from Colo- tion and just focus on your-
rado is scheduled to open self, focus on the skiing that
her Beijing Olympics on you can do, focus on the
Feb. 7 as the defending technique and on the en-
champion in the giant ergy," said Alexis Pinturault,
slalom. A key word there the reigning Alpine World
is "scheduled," because, Cup overall champion and
as Shiffrin experienced at a three-time Olympic med-
the 2018 Pyeongchang alist for France. "Of course it
Games, nothing is certain makes a difference — and
when it comes to the va- we know it."
garies of various elements What sort of difference can
such as temperature, wind, the weather make on the
sunlight or precipitation. clock in Alpine skiing?
In outdoor events, all of As much as a second, Pin-
those factors can, and turault estimates.
quite often do, alter the That's significant. The mar-
competition and the com- gin between gold and sil-
petitors themselves. ver was no more than 13
""On a more macro level, hundredths of a second
it takes a lot of mental ef- Mikaela Shiffrin, of the United States, skies into the finish area after winning the gold medal in the in half of the 10 women's
fort to be ready to go out Women's Giant Slalom at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Feb. 15, 2018. or men's races at the 2018
and compete in an Olym- Associated Press Games.
pic event and when ... it Four years ago, Shiffrin
doesn't happen ... it's, for ing to her first Olympics. a hill. the bad side, you're (an- wanted to enter five indi-
sure, stressful and takes en- Snowfall is not in the fore- It generally is considered gry)." vidual events in South Ko-
ergy away from that level. cast for the Yanqing moun- better to go earlier to avoid In action sports — think X rea.
It's unlike any other sport, in tain area during these ruts and bumps that devel- Games — weather can al- Fierce winds led to post-
that sense, right? Olympics. Strong wind is ex- op. But if a headwind gives most singularly dictate the ponements, prompting her
"There's just not that many pected. way to a tailwind, say, or outcome. to drop two races.
sports that are that affect- Something else to contend if a cloudy day turns clear A slate sky can dull the "You only have so many
ed, and that exposed, by with: the way light, and and the crystals of the snow contrast between the weather days built into the
weather, both to affect the therefore visibility, switches shift, then advantages can, background and the half- schedule," said Shiffrin, who
outcome of a race and to as the sun moves across too. pipe for vaulting snow- once again plans to par-
affect the outcome of an the sky over the course of "It's rare to have days where boarders, making it tough ticipate in slalom, giant sla-
event," said Mike Day, Shif- a day, creating shadows it's consistent. You do have for riders to pick out land- lom, downhill, super-G and
frin's main coach with the that appear and recede. In them, but they're few and ing spots. Wind can slow Alpine combined. "At the
U.S. ski team. "It will have a an event like the downhill, far between," said U.S. ski down athletes as they try end of the day, you can
big impact and has had a where speeds can top 80 team member Bryce Ben- to gain speed to execute make every move right.
big impact in the past." mph (130 kph), it's vital to nett, who won a World Cup tricks with 1440 degrees — You can be rested and
Olympians say the weather be able to pick up on nu- downhill at Val Gardena, It- or more — of spin. Shifting ready to go strong. And it
might change their prepa- ances along the course. aly, in December. "The vari- winds are most dangerous still can be totally messed
ration and mindset before "You need to see everything ables make it interesting. on the slopestyle course, up for, essentially, reasons
a contest. Once the con- on the slope," said Vincent When you're on the good where jumps are as high that are completely out of
test begins, it might harm — Kriechmayr, a 30-year- side of variables, you're as 80 feet, because riders your control. I don't really
or, it's also true, help — their old from Austria who won psyched. When you're on can't properly calibrate the love that idea."q
result. All of which turns this two golds at the 2021 Al-
into just another source of pine world championships. LIKE US ON
stress at a one-day-every- "When we have bad light,
four-years spectacle al- you have to react: 'What's
ready filled with them. coming (toward) my skis?'
"That's like, probably, 90% ... When we see the slope,
of what we're thinking we can push."
about," said Keely Cash- As it is, the quality of the
man, a 22-year-old Alpine snow tends to deteriorate Facebook.com/arubatoday/
skier from California head- as more racers head down