Olympic Men’s Giant Slalom: By the Numbers

Marcel Hirscher will look to win his second Olympic Winter gold medal when he competes in the men’s giant slalom on Sunday, Feb. 18, at Yongpyong Alpine Centre. Check your local listings for broadcast date and times in your home country.

Hirscher won the men’s alpine combined on Tuesday, Feb. 13, his first gold medal at any Winter Games. The Austrian can become the 10th male alpine skier to win multiple gold medals at a single Winter Games and the first since his compatriot Benjamin Raich won the slalom and GS in 2006. He can join Toni Sailer, Raich, Hermann Maier, and Matthias Mayer as the only Austrian men with multiple alpine skiing gold medals at the Winter Games.

Hirscher won the men’s giant slalom world title in 2017 and can become the third current world champion in a row to claim the Olympic gold medal in this event, after Switzerland’s Carlo Janka in 2010 and American Ted Ligety in 2014.

Austrian skiers have won a joint-record four gold medals (alongside Switzerland) and a record 18 total medals in this event at the Olympic Winter Games, but failed to reach the podium in 2010 and 2014. Austria has never failed to claim a medal in the men’s giant slalom at three successive Winter Games.

Ligety could claim a record sixth medal in the giant slalom at the World Championships and Olympic Winter Games combined. Ligety has claimed one Olympic gold medal in GS (2014), three World Championships gold medals (2011, 2013 and 2015) and one World Championships bronze medal (2009). The only other alpine skier who has claimed five giant slalom medals at the Winter Games and World Championships combined is Slovenia’s Tina Maze.

Ligety’s four giant slalom triumphs at World Championships and Olympic Winter Games combined are a joint-record among men and women, alongside Italian great Deborah Compagnoni.

Ligety can become the second man to win the men’s giant slalom twice at the Olympic Winter Games, after Italy’s Alberto Tomba who won it in 1988 and 1992.

At 33 years and 171 days, Ligety can become the oldest Olympic medalist in the men’s giant slalom, breaking the record by Maier, who took bronze in 2006 at the age of 33 years and 75 days.

Frenchman Alexis Pinturault bagged bronze in this event at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. Pinturault could join compatriots Franck Piccard and Guy Perillat as the only Frenchmen with multiple Olympic medals in a single men’s alpine skiing event. Only two Frenchmen have won the men’s giant slalom at the Olympic Winter Games: Francois Bonlieu in 1964 and Jean-Claude Killy in 1968.

Statistics provided by Gracenote Sports and FIS.