Vonn, Shiffrin and Odermatt chase gold in Alpine skiing

Alpine skiing in its Olympic form dates back more than a century, and the sport made its debut at the 1936 Games in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. Events have been modified over the years, but the individual competitions are familiar to most fans, like downhill and slalom, remain. Here is what to know for next month's Winter Olympics in Italy.

How it works

There are five different events in Alpine skiing for both the men and women at the Olympics. The individual events are: downhill, super-G, giant slalom and slalom. Then there is the team combined event, which will be making its Olympic debut.

In downhill and super-G, otherwise known as the "speed events", each competitor gets only one run. Giant slalom and slalom are contested over two runs, with the top 30 finishers from the opening leg starting in reverse order for the second leg. The team combined features two-person teams, with one racer competing in a downhill run and the other in a slalom run, with their combined times producing the results.

Who to watch

United States duo Mikaela Shiffrin and Lindsey Vonn are two of the most accomplished skiers of all time. Shiffrin excels in slalom and giant slalom while the 41-year-old Vonn excels in downhill and super-G. It's possible that they could pair with each other in team combined. The US squad also includes downhill world champion Breezy Johnson and defending super-G silver medalist Ryan Cochran-Siegle.

The host Italians have a strong squad with Sofia Goggia and Federica Brignone — who has just returned from injury — and Dominik Paris. Swiss standout Marco Odermatt is the top men's racer.

Venues and dates

Men's events at the Olympics will be held in Bormio and women's events in Cortina d'Ampezzo. The schedule features the men's downhill on Feb 7, the women's downhill Feb 8; the men's giant slalom on Feb 14, the women's on Feb 15; and the men's slalom is Feb 16, with the women's slalom, the final Alpine event, on Feb 18.

Memorable moments

French standout Jean-Claude Killy swept gold in all three men's events on home snow at the 1968 Grenoble Games.

Shiffrin became the youngest slalom gold medalist as an 18-year-old at the 2014 Sochi Games.

Austria's Hermann Maier bounced back from a horrific crash in downhill at the 1998 Nagano Games to win gold in super-G and giant slalom.

Fun facts

Alberto Tomba is the most decorated Italian skier in Olympic history with five medals: three golds won at Calgary in 1998 and Albertville in 1992, and two silvers, one at Albertville and another at Lillehammer in 1994. While he's from the Bologna area, Tomba spent many winters training in Cortina.

Deborah Compagnoni, who was born in Bormio and raised just up the road in Santa Caterina di Valfurva, won skiing golds at three straight Olympics: 1992, 1994 and 1998.

Combined is the oldest skiing event at the Olympics, having featured when the sport made its debut in 1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen. But the event's format has changed multiple times over the years.

Agencies via Xinhua