FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Disciplines: Downhill

Marco Odermatt. Picture: Erich Spiess / Red Bull Content Pool

Downhill is considered the premier discipline and is the longest and, after the slalom, second-oldest alpine skiing competition. The rules were first established in 1921 by Sir Arnold Lunn for the British National Championships.

Since its inception in 1967, Downhill has been an integral part of the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup.

The most famous race courses are fixed and change little over the years. The legendary Lauberhorn in Wengen, or the Streif in Kitzbühel, Austria, along with the Stelvio in Bormio, the Oreiller-Killy slope in Val-d'Isère, the Saslong in Val Gardena, and the Kandahar downhill in Garmisch-Partenkirchen are considered classic World Cup Downhills.

Due to the high speeds involved, Downhill is considered the most risky discipline. In the Alpine Ski World Cup races, skiers reach speeds of over 130 km/h. On the Hahnenkamm race in Kitzbühel, speeds of up to 150 km/h are sometimes reached, and on the Lauberhorn race in Wengen, speeds of up to 160 km/h can be reached. In 2013, Johan Clarey set a new speed record in the World Cup racing in the classic downhill race on Saturday in Wengen, Switzerland. In the "Haneggschuss" section, he reached 161.9 km/h.

Downhill emphasizes "the six components of technique, courage, speed, risk, physical condition, and judgement", according to the FIS International Ski Competition Rules.

The discipline kicks off the 2025-2026 winter season on the "Birds of Prey" slope in Beaver Creek, USA, on December 5th with the Men's races. The women's Downhill season will start on December 12th on the Engiadina racecourse in St. Moritz, Switzerland.

The Downhill event is contested in one run.

Skiers ranked 1st to 30th are awarded World Cup points in accordance with the following schedule:

Since the introduction of the World Cup, the starting order has changed frequently. In 2021, a new starting method was introduced. In the draw, the top ten skiers in the Alpine Ski World Cup Start List are drawn for a starting number between 6 and 15. Skiers 11 to 20 are drawn for a number between 1 and 5 or 16–20. WCSL places 21 to 30 will also be drawn among themselves.

The course is marked with single-colored gates, which must be at least eight meters wide. If Men and Women use the same competition course, the additional gates for Women must be blue. It has become common practice to mark course boundaries by coloring the snow.

The race courses are designed to challenge the skiers in a variety of terrain. They ski at high speeds over often icy patches, through technically demanding turns, over extremely steep sections, and also over flat sections where gliding is essential. Long jumps further increase the difficulty. Courses should normally be approximately. 30 m wide.

The difference in altitude in Men's Downhill races in the Alpine Ski World Cup, World Championships, and Olympic Games is at least 800 metres and at most 1100 metres, and in Women's Downhill races it is at least 450 metres and at most 800 metres.

The longest Men´s World Cup race course is the Lauberhorn Downhill in Wengen since its founding in 1967 (course length 4480 m, start at 2315 m, finish at 1287 m, vertical drop 1028 m, running time approx. 2:30 min), while the longest World Cup race course for women is the Di Prampero piste in Tarvisio (Italy) with a length of 3920 m and a vertical drop of 950 m.

Official training forms an integral part of the competition. Competitors are required to participate in the training. All qualified competitors entered for the competition must have been entered and drawn in all official training runs.

Three days should be scheduled for the inspection and official training.

A reduction in the number of training days or at least one training run may be decided on by the Jury. Official training does not necessarily need to be on consecutive days.

According to the FIS Specification for Alpine Competition Equipment for the 2025–20256 season (valid from July 2025), the minimum radius for Downhill skis in the Alpine Ski World Cup is 50 meters, the minimum length is 218 cm for Men and 210 cm for Women. Furthermore, the ski may not be wider than 95 mm at the shoulder of the ski and 65 mm at the waist of the ski.

In Women's Downhill, the most successful skier in the Alpine Ski World Cup is Lindsey Vonn with eight Downhill Crystal Globes, followed by Annemarie Proell. Austrian Renate Goetschl won five times. Sofia Goggia, Michela Figini, and Katja Seizinger claimed the Downhill Crystal Globe four times.

Lindsey Vonn is one of the world's most successful ski racers. Vonn is the only American woman to claim Downhill gold at the Olympic Winter Games, has 82 Alpine Ski World Cup victories, 137 World Cup podiums, eight World Championship medals, and 20 World Cup titles, including four Overall World Cup Crystal Globes (2008, 2009, 2010, and 2012), eight Downhill Crystal Globes (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2016), five Super-G (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2015), and three Alpine Combined Crystal Globes (2010, 2011, and 2012). Vonn is one of six women to have won Alpine Ski World Cup races in all five disciplines of Alpine Skiing, Downhill, Super-G, Giant Slalom, Slalom, and Super Combined.

In the Men's Downhill, Franz Klammer leads the discipline rankings with five Downhill Crystal Globes (1975,1976, 1977, 1978, and 1983) followed by Beat Feuz and Didier Cuche with four. A group of four skiers won the Downhill Crystal Globe three times: Michael Walchhofer, Franz Heinzer, Luc Alphand, and Stephan Eberharter.

Franz Klammer, popularly known as "The Kaiser" and the “Klammer Express”, is still internationally recognized as the best Downhill skier of all time and the epitome of ski racing.

There are two reasons to remain the king of the Downhill: the first one is that Franz Klammer holds the victory record for World Cup Downhill races. He won 25 World Cup Downhills, including four on the Hahnenkamm at Kitzbühel, including a string of three consecutive victories (1975, 1976, 1977), and four in Wengen.

Peter Mueller, and Dominik Paris has won 19 World Cup Downhill events.

Last season, Federica Brignone claimed her first career Downhill Alpine Ski World Cup Crystal Globe. Brignone secured the Downhill title with a total of 384 points. 2024 Downhill World Cup winner Cornelia Hütter (368), along with Sofia Goggia (350), took second and third place in the discipline's rankings. Her previous best finish in the Downhill was 3rd in 2019-2020.

Federica Brignone has won two Downhill World Cup races last season, in St. Anton and Garmisch-Partenkirchen. They are the only two Downhill World Cup wins of her career. She also came 3rd in Cortina d'Ampezzo, her only other podium of the Downhill World Cup season.

Marco Odermatt secured the 2025 Men’s Downhill Alpine Ski World Cup Crystal Globe after the season's final race in Sun Valley was canceled due to adverse weather. This is Odermatt's second Downhill Crystal Globe, following his first one from last season.

The last Swiss skier to win the Downhill Crystal Globe before Odermatt was Beat Feuz, who won four between 2017-2018 and 2020-2021.

Odermatt added the Downhill World Cup title to his Overall, Super-G, and Giant Slalom Globes.

Odermatt won the Downhill title with a total of 605 points. Teammates Franjo Von Allmen (522) and Alexis Monney (327) finished in second and third place in the Downhill standings.

During last season, the 27-year-old Swiss ski champion secured a podium finish in Downhill six times out of eight races, achieving victories in Val Gardena and Wengen.

The 2023 World Cup Finals in Soldeu was the last time Odermatt finished outside the top 14 in a World Cup race (he came 15th that day). In the 16 World Cup Downhills since then, Odermatt has won four times and claimed an additional eight podium finishes.