Olympics Men’s Downhill live stream, start time, TV channel
By Zach Bigalke
The men’s downhill kicks off the Alpine skiing calendar at the Olympics. Here’s how you can watch online to see who take home the gold in Pyeongchang.
Unlike some of the other Alpine skiing disciplines, there are no gates that skiers have to navigate. Instead, the downhill is a pure test of speed and nerves that requires a different skill set. Racers regularly hit speeds upwards of 80 miles per hour as they spend around two minutes riding their edges and barreling down unforgiving hardpack terrain.
The Olympic men’s downhill usually serves as the first course of Olympics skiing coverage, and this year is no exception. Four years ago, a completely new set of contenders emerged. None of the podium finishers from the 2010 Vancouver Games claimed medals in 2014. Instead, Austria’s Matthias Mayer came pretty much out of nowhere to steal away gold. Christof Innerhofer of Italy and Norway’s Kjetil Jansrud rounded out the top three.
The FIS World Cup already stopped at the Jeongseon Alpine Centre when the course first opened in 2016 to commemorate the venue. Jansrud won the event, finishing with a time of 1:41.38 to claim victory. In the first training session for the 2018 Olympic downhill, Jansrud finished second and five people in total finished faster than his winning time in 2016.
Heading into the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang, Jansrud has to be considered the prohibitive favorite. But he cannot count on victory. World Cup downhill leader Beat Feuz of Switzerland is the biggest challenger. Mayer also has a solid chance to claim a second consecutive medal.
For American fans, there is unlikely to be any medal to celebrate this year. With Bode Miller retired, attention will turn to Bryce Bennett and Travis Ganong. Bennett, a 25-year-old from Squaw Valley, California, is the only US men’s skier ranked in the top 20 of the FIS World Cup downhill standings. Ganong finished 25th in the season.
Next: How many medals will the United States win?
Here’s how you can watch the Olympic men’s downhill online.
Date: Saturday, Feb. 10
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.