The Women's Super-Combined takes place on Monday morning (Feb 10) with a start time of 2 a.m. ET for the the downhill portion, while the slalom has a start time of 6 a.m. ET. The events will be televised live at www.nbcolympics.com or you can Check your local listings to find out when you can catch the action on television, tape-delay style. Odds for the top 16 in the event are listed below, with a slightly detailed look at the top 7 in the field.
What is the Super-Combined? Skiers must complete one Downhill run and one Slalom run. Athletes ski a single run of each, and the fastest aggregate time wins the gold. The slalom and downhill portions of a combined event are run separately from the regular downhill and slalom events on shorter, and often less demanding, race courses.
Maria Hoefl-Riesch (Germany) is the favorite of this event at 5/4 odds. Maria has won two Olympic and two World Championship gold medals and was an overall World Cup champion back in 2011. In the one and only World Cup super-combined prior to the Games, Hoefl-Riesch finished third. A gold medal in Sochi would make the 29-year-old the second skier in history to win back-to-back Olympic titles in combined after Croatia’s Janica Kostelic (2002-06).
Nicole Hosp (Austria) is next at 7/2 odds. Nicole is versatile all-around racer that has won World Cup races in four of the five alpine skiing disciplines. Hosp won the overall World Cup title in 2007 and the season title in giant slalom. In 2013 she finished the year ranked 2nd in Combined World Cup standings. She has one Olympic medal to her credit and that was the silver she won in slalom back in the 2006 games (Turin, Italy).
Tina Maze (Slovenia) is next at 4/1 odds. Tina Maze competed in the super combined just once since Oct. 26, 2013 and that was a sixth-place effort in the World Cup. Three of her 22 career victories have come in super-combined. Maze reached the podium 24 times during the 2013 World Cup season, breaking the record of 22 set by Austrian skiing legend Hermann Maier in 2000. Maze also obliterated the women's record of 18 top-three finishes in one season. Tina is a serious threat to win the gold in Sochi.
Marie Michele Gagnon (Canada) checks in with 10/1 odds to capture gild at Sochi. Marie is off her first career World Cup victory in the super-combined in Altenmarkt-Zauchensee. She competes in four alpine disciplines, specializing in the technical events of slalom and giant slalom. In her victory at the world cup she beat out Maria Hoefl-Riesch and in that win she used the tactic of staying close to the leaders in the downhill portion and then use her expertise in slalom to over take the leaders. If she is able to implement that strategy here then she could find herself taking gold in Sochi as well.
Anna Fenninger (Austria) in next on the list at 12/1 odds. Anna is a former World Champion in the super combined, accomplishing the feat back in 2011. Her most consistent World Cup podium results have been in the super G. Fenninger won her first World Cup event in Lienz, Austria, in the giant slalom. After another giant slalom win in Austria in December 2012, Fenninger's first super G victory came in March 2013 in Germany. She's the third-ranked overall skier in the world behind only Maria Hoefl-Riesch and Tina Weirather and has an excellent shot at medaling in Sochi.
Michaela Kirchgasser (Austria) is at 12/1 odds to take the gold in the Super-Combined. Michaela has finished third in the super-combined season standings twice, including in 2013. Her last two podium finishes have been in super-combined, including a runner-up to Gagnon in Altenmarkt-Zauchensee this season. She has some momentum and the experience of bein in the last 2 Olympics, so she could be a skier to keep a close eye on in Sochi.
Julia Mancuso (USA) is next at 25/1 odds. With Lindsey Vonn out for the US, Julia is our best hope for a medal in this event. Julia was the gold medalist in the giant slalom at the 2006 Winter Olympics and the silver medalist in both downhill and combined at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Her three Olympic medals are the most ever for a female American alpine skier. Mancuso has also won five medals (two silver and three bronze) at the World Championships and seven races in regular World Cup competition.
Other Notable Women's Super-Combined Odds... Lara Gut- Switzerland (25/1)... Tina Weirather- Liechtenstein (25/1)... Elisabeth Goergl- Austria (33/1)... Sara Hector- Sweden (40/1)... Dominique Gisin- Switzerland (50/1)... Ragnhild Mowinckel- Norway (50/1)... Wendy Holdener- Switzerland (50/1)... Sarka Strachova- Czech Republic (66/1)
Prediction: Im going to take a bit of an upset here are go with Tina Maze from Slovenia to take the gold. Tina had a record breaking season in 2013 will ride that momentum to the top of the podium in Sochi.
Many thanks to Wikipedia, Bleacher Report and the NBCOlympics.com for providing the info needed for this article.
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