FIS tweaks Olympic qualification rules

By Published On: January 7th, 2014Comments Off on FIS tweaks Olympic qualification rules
Ted Ligety is one racer who will benefit from the rule change. (GEPA/ Christian Walgram)

Ted Ligety is one racer who will benefit from the rule change. (GEPA/ Christian Walgram)

At the urging of several national ski federations, the FIS has modified some of the Olympic qualification rules it had previously revamped earlier this season to better accommodate smaller alpine nations.

In order to qualify for each discipline at the Winter Olympic Games, the rules required athletes to compete in at least three separate races per discipline over the course of this season and last. The problem was there were just three combined races held for each gender last season, and none have been held this season. Ironically, the world champion in combined, American Ted Ligety, was among the skiers who could not meet this criteria.

The FIS addressed the issue Tuesday by making downhill races sufficient to qualify for the combined, allowing Ligety to compete in Sochi, as well as Austrian stars Anna Fenninger and Kathrin Zettel.

There are still skiers missing the criteria, notably Austrian Benjamin Raich and American Bode Miller, who had been sidelined by injury. The FIS said a separate eligibility panel of specialists will decide injury cases.

In the technical disciplines of slalom and giant slalom, five results are required.

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About the Author: Hank McKee

In memoriam: The veteran of the staff, McKee started with Ski Racing in 1980. Over the seasons, he covered virtually every aspect of the sport, from the pro tours to junior racing, freestyle and World Cup alpine competition. He wrote the first national stories for many U.S. team stars, and was still around to report on their retirements. “Longevity has its rewards,” he said, “but it’s a slow process.”