Olympic men’s downhill postponed: Rescheduled live stream, start time, TV listings
By Zach Bigalke
High winds at Jeongseon forced the postponement of the men’s downhill. Weather could continue to cause shifts in the Alpine skiing calendar at the Olympics.
Traditionally the men’s downhill kicks off Alpine skiing action at the Winter Olympics. This year was supposed to be no different. But Mother Nature conspired to throw a wrench into the plans of fans who tuned in on Saturday night in North America for prime-time skiing action. Officials were forced to postpone the men’s downhill until Thursday due to gusts as high as 45 miles per hour in the hours overnight prior to the event’s start on Sunday in South Korea.
Alpine skiers at the 2018 Winter Olympics are going to have to contend with a compressed competition schedule thanks to the high winds at the Jeongseon Alpine Centre. Especially for those skiers competing in multiple events, the shift in the calendar can have dramatic impacts on performance.
Olympics officials and the International Ski Federation (FIS) rescheduled the men’s downhill for Thursday. High winds and freezing temperatures are expected to continue throughout the next two to three days at Jeongseon. That could cause further shifts in the calendar.
Upcoming events are also threatened by weather delays. In addition to the men’s downhill, the men’s Super G also had to move from Thursday to Friday to accommodate the downhill. Alpine combined training has been canceled as well.
What about the upcoming women’s giant slalom?
The women’s giant slalom is slated to take place on Monday. Weather should not affect the start time of that race, however. The slalom and giant slalom are being hosted at Yongpyong Alpine Centre, located 10 miles north of Jeongseon. Winds have not been much of a factor, though frigid conditions have wreaked havoc on equipment.
Skiers training at Yongpyong have been forced to replace skis at a higher rate than usual as ice crystals create greater friction on the contact surfaces. But while the 2018 Winter Olympics could prove costlier than usual from an equipment standpoint, there is no signs as of now that the weather conditions at Jeongseon will impact the women’s giant slalom.
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Here’s how you can watch the rescheduled Olympic men’s downhill online.
Date: Thursday, Feb. 15
Time: 9:00 p.m. ET
Location: Jeongseon, South Korea
Venue: Jeongseon Alpine Centre
Live Stream: NBC Olympics, FuboTV
Keep it tuned in here are we bring you the latest live streams and updated results for each Alpine skiing event over the course of the 2018 Winter Olympics.