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Above Nordic combined has featured at every Olympic Winter Games Right Speed skaters compete over distances from 500m to 10,000m SPEED SKATING Gangneung Oval 10-24 February Medal events: 14 Speed skating sees athletes race around a 400m ice track, and will feature more events in PyeongChang than any other discipline. The men’s and women’s competitions are largely the same except for the long distance races, where the men compete in the 5,000m and the 10,000m, while the women contest the 3,000m and 5,000m. Men and women also take part in the team pursuit and the mass start, which is returning to the Olympic programme after a solitary appearance in 1932. SKELETON Olympic Sliding Centre 15-17 February Medal events: 2 Whereas luge athletes navigate the track feet-fi rst on their backs, skeleton racers lie face-fi rst on their stomachs, steering the sled by using their shoulders and knees. The two events (one for men and one for women) will take place on a new track measuring 1,376m, with competitors averaging a top speed of 120km per hour, and the winner determined after four runs. SKI JUMPING Alpensia Ski Jumping Centre 8-19 February Medal events: 4 Along with cross-country skiing and Nordic combined, ski jumping is classifi ed as a “Nordic” sport. There will be four events in PyeongChang: men’s normal hill individual, women’s normal hill individual, men’s large hill individual and men’s team. Various factors determine athletes’ total scores, including fl ying, landing and out-run style, posture and distance. SNOWBOARD Phoenix Snow Park; Alpensia Ski Jumping Centre 10-24 February Medal events: 10 Still a relatively young Olympic discipline, having fi rst appeared at Nagano 1998, there will be 10 snowboard events in PyeongChang (fi ve each for men and women). Parallel giant slalom sees two athletes compete on matching slalom courses, while snowboard cross features up to six athletes racing down a course. Halfpipe and slopestyle each see athletes perform jumps, rotations and twists in the air, while big air – making its Olympic debut – involves competitors performing tricks after launching off large jumps. OLYMPIC REVIEW 43