Alpine skiing combined

Combined is an event in alpine ski racing. A traditional combined competition consists of one run of downhill and two runs of slalom, each discipline run on separate days. The winner is the skier with the fastest aggregate time. (Until the 1990s, a complicated point system was used to determine placings in the combined event.) A modified version, the super combined, is a speed race (downhill or super-G) and only one run of slalom, with both portions scheduled on the same day.

History

The first World Championships in 1931 did not include the combined event, but it was added to the program in 1932. Alpine skiing at the Winter Olympics was not included until 1936, and the combined was the only event. The combined was one of three medal events at the next Olympics in 1948, along with downhill and slalom. The combined used the results of the only downhill race with two runs of combined slalom. The regular slalom (two runs) was held the following day.

With the introduction of giant slalom at the world championships in 1950, the combined event disappeared from the Olympics for four decades, until re-introduced in 1988. From 1948 through 1980, the Winter Olympics also served as the world championships, with two sets of medals awarded. The world champion in the combined was determined "on paper" by the results of the three races of downhill, giant slalom, and slalom. The top three finishers in the combined event were awarded world championship medals by the FIS, but not Olympic medals from the IOC. This three-race paper method was used from 1954 through 1980; no FIS medals were awarded for the combined in 1950 or 1952. A separate downhill and slalom for the combined event was added to the world championships in 1982, and the Olympics in 1988.