Notably absent from the medals in these Olympics were the Austrian men, who had won 8 medals in 2006 and 7 in 2002. France and host Canada were shut out from the podium, as were the German men and the Swiss and Italian women. The U.S. had its best Olympics ever with eight alpine medals, only the fourth nation to achieve that total in a single Olympics (Austria, France, Switzerland).
Individually, three men and five women won multiple medals; triple medalists were Bode Miller of the U.S. and Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway, who both won a medal of each color. The sole double gold medalist was Maria Riesch of Germany.
The FIS point list used to determine entry into the Olympics was from 18 January 2010.[2]
There could be a maximum of 320 athletes competing in alpine skiing, with no more than 22 per NOC (there was a further limit of 14 male and 14 female per NOC). Additionally, each NOC could enter a maximum of four skiers per event.
To qualify, the competitor had to reach either the "A" or "B" standard.
"A" qualification standard: the competitor is in the top 500 of the FIS points list in at least one event. If the event is downhill, super-G or super combined, he or she requires at least 120 FIS points.
"B" qualification standard: if an NOC does not have a male or female athlete that meets the "A" Standard, then they may enter an athlete of that gender in slalom or giant slalom only, provided that the athlete has at most 140 FIS points in the event and has taken part in the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2009.
Demographics
As of 28 February 2010, there were 309 athletes listed as competitors in alpine skiing at the Games, representing 71 countries.[3]
The youngest alpine skier in the 2010 Olympic Games was Ghassan Achi of Lebanon, age 16 at the time of competition (born 28 July 1993). The oldest was Hubertus von Hohenlohe of Mexico, age 51 (born 2 February 1959).[3]
Competing nations
The following nations entered the following number of alpine skiers.[2]
