It should be obvious that the maximum and average speed in downhill skiing strongly depends on the course racer runs on. On a typical FIS-approved, international-level course racers can run about 130 km/h (80mph) but some courses can be faster. For example, in certain sections of “Streif” course in Kitzbühel, Austria racers can run up to 140 kilometers per hour (87 miles per hour) (Course Start at 1.665m/5462.6ft, finish 805m/2641.08ft, vertical drop 860m/2821.52ft, length 3.312m/10866.14ft, average gradient 27%, maximum gradient 85%, minimum gradient 2%)
Right from the start, racers require a great deal of courage and self-confidence to fully charge the course, launching off to jumps of 50 m to 80 m at the sharp edge into Mausefalle. The Compression following Mausefalle has proved fatal to many a favorite in his struggle to resist the tremendous forces acting on him. (Source: hahnenkamm.com)
Vancouver 2010 downhill men will run February 13th, 2010 on Dave Murray downhill track in Whistler Creek (length 3158m, vertical drop 853m, maximum gradient 47%, average gradient 28% Source:scribd.com )
Speed skiing
Speed skiing is the sport of skiing downhill in a straight line as quickly as possible. It is one of the fastest non-motorized sports on land … The current world record is 251.4 km/h (156 mph), held by Simone Origone. Speed skiers regularly exceed 200 km/h (125 mph), which is even faster than the terminal velocity of a free-falling skydiver; about 193 km/h (120 mph) in the belly-to-earth position
Speed skiing official world records
Men: Simone Origone, Italy – 251.4 km/h (156.2 mph), April 2006 Les Arcs, France
Women: Sanna Tidstrand, Sweden – 242.59 km/h (150.74 mph), April 2006 Les Arcs, France
Useful tools: Speed Converter, Length Converter
Tags: ski, speed, sport, vancouver 2010