TORINO: Alpine: Is the combined an endangered species?

TORINO: Alpine: Is the combined an endangered species?{mosimage}Many have called the combined events at these Olympics a “super slalom” or a “slalom race with downhill window dressing.”

It’s no wonder this will be the final year the Olympic combined will use the format of one run of downhill followed by two runs of slalom. The World Cup has already moved to the super-combined, which links the downhill with only one run of a longer slalom, and in 2010, the Olympics will follow suit.

American Kaylin Richardson makes the case for the change. “The two-run slalom is more in my favor, but I think it’s fairer to go with one run of slalom that’s longer and then one downhill. That makes it more of a fair playing ground for downhillers versus the slalom skiers.”

Supporting her contention: The first five women in the Olympic combined results occupy the first five spots in the World Cup slalom rankings. On the contrary, Janica Kostelic is the only racer in the top 10 of the Olympic combined who is ranked in the top 10 of the downhill rankings.

Furthermore, a race that is contested at two different ski areas and takes eight hours to complete is not going to draw many fans. Such was the case at both the men’s and women’s combined events. For the women’s slalom, held under the lights, less than half the stadium was filled and if not for the ever-raucous Croatians, the audience could well have been watching a performance of ‘Aida.’

FIS officials need to ask if the presence of the combined at the Oympics and a few World Cups is enough to not only sustain the event, but also make it grow. Could super K be added to the Continental Cups, such as NorAms and Europa Cups? Is there a place for the super K in domestic competition, such as U.S. junior nationals or Junior Olympics? As Richardson noted, ‘Speed helps my tech skiing and vice versa.’

To be able to be among the best in the world in these two disparate events requires gifts from the skiing gods, as were on vivid display by the 2006 Olympic medalists.

But without more participants, as well as contenders, the combined could go the way of the H-gate, yellow flags, leather ski boots and T-Rex — extinction.