Olympic Alpine Skiing Schedule 2022: Live Stream, TV Coverage for Men’s Downhill

Robert F. Bukaty/Associated Press

Typically, the alpine skiers taking part in the men’s downhill event at the Winter Olympics have a strong feel for the course they’re going to compete on. That isn’t exactly the case for the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing.

The course that will host the men’s downhill event on Saturday night (Sunday morning in Beijing) is a new one at the Yanqing Alpine Skiing Center, which is about 50 miles north of Beijing. It’s never held a World Cup event, and it didn’t host an Olympic test event, either, because that was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The men’s downhill competitors took the course for training sessions earlier this week, but the third and final one (which was held Saturday in Beijing) was cut short due to high winds. So the skiers got even less time to feel it out than they expected when arriving at the Winter Olympics.

So there are likely a wide range of possibilities for how the men’s downhill event could unfold. But that unpredictability may make the competition even more exciting.

Here’s everything you need to know heading into the men’s downhill alpine skiing event.

Men’s Downhill Coverage Info

Date: Saturday, Feb. 5

Start Time: 10 p.m. ET

TV: NBC

Live Stream: NBCOlympics.com and Peacock

Preview

While some events at this year’s Winter Olympics have an overwhelming favorite, that isn’t the case for men’s downhill. There are several skiers who will likely be contending for the gold, which will be up for grabs during the event on Saturday night (Sunday in Beijing).

Norway’s Aleksander Aamodt Kilde has been picked by many as the favorite to win men’s downhill, as he’s the current World Cup leader. However, he hasn’t fared well at the event at past Winter Games. In 2014, he didn’t finish his run, and in 2018, he placed 15th.

However, the 29-year-old Kilde has greatly improved since then and gained a lot of experience. So it’s quite possible he’ll win his first Olympic medal in men’s downhill, potentially even the gold.

Switzerland’s Beat Feuz will be another top skier to watch in this event. The 34-year-old won the bronze medal in men’s downhill in 2018, and he won the World Cup title for the event every year from 2018-21. He’s currently second to Kilde in the World Cup standings.

Matthias Mayer, a 31-year-old from Austria, is currently in third in those standings behind Kilde and Feuz, but he’s been the most successful of the three at the Olympic level. Mayer has won two gold medals at past Games, which includes one in men’s downhill in 2014.

A potential breakout star to watch is Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt. The 18-year-old, who ranks fourth in the World Cup standings for men’s downhill, will be making his Olympic debut. And it will be impressive if he can end up on the medal stand while facing such tough competition on this type of stage.

But this new course in Yanqing could be difficult for every competitor, even the most talented and the most experienced. After the first training session earlier this week, Kilde said it “was, as expected, challenging.”

“High speeds on and off, jumps, terrain, a lot of things happening,” Kilde said, per Eric Goodman of NBCOlympics.com.

During Saturday’s final training run, Kilde, Mayer and Italy’s Christof Innerhofer were the only skiers to complete their runs before the rest of the session was canceled. So there was even less time to feel out the course, especially for the others.

“For everybody it is new, us athletes as well as the coaches,” Odermatt said, per Noah Trister of the Associated Press. “It’s a big challenge for the whole team to find a perfect setup.”

Regardless, three skiers are going to earn medals in the men’s downhill event, one of whom will capture the gold. And it should be entertaining to watch as they battle it out on this course, which is providing a bit of an unknown to the competition.