The Super G is the next Alpine even for the women at the 2014 Winter Olympics. The event takes place Saturday morning (2/15), with a start time of 2:00 am (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 14 in the event are listed below, with a slightly detailed look at the top 6 in the field.
What Is the Super G? The Super G, also know as the Super Giant, first made its Olympic debut in the 1988 games in Calgary. The Super G is a timed speed event that combines the speed requirements of the downhill competition and technical aspects of the slalom, as the skiers must also maneuver through gates spread in a similar fashion to the giant slalom. The super-G requires athleticism, finesse and fearlessness to reach the Olympic podium.
Lara Gut (Switzerland) is the favorite in this event at 11/4 odds. This is one of Lara's specialty events and the last 3 years she has finished 4th, 8th and 10th in the Super G World Cup standings.Lara missed the 2010 games in Vancouver, but had a nice showing in the Downhill event taking the silver, which was her first ever Olympic medal. Lara started out the 2014 season with victories in 4 of her first 6 World Cup races, including 2 wins in the Super G, so she is coming in with some good momentum. She wasn't happy about her bronze in the Downhill and she wasn't able to finish the Super Combined, but make no mistake she is a clear threat to take the gold in the Super G.
Tina Maze (Slovenia) is next at 4/1 odds. Tina She is one of just six women who have won in all five World Cup events and one of three who have won in all five disciplines in a single season. Tina finished 1st in the World Cup standings in the Super G in 2013 and 4th in 2014. She does have a gold in these games, after sharing the top of the podium with Dominique Gisin of Switzerland, as the two women tied in the downhill competition. 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.
Maria Hoefl-Riesch (Germany) is next at 9/2 odds. Maria has already had a nice Olympics, after grabbing gold in the super combined, which was her second straight Olympic gold in that event. Maria is now one gold away from tying the record for all-time Olympic gold medals won in the sport set by Croatian pioneer Janica Kostelic. Maria took first in the 2008 Super G World Cup standings and have finished 10th or better in the last 5 years. At a height of 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in), she is one of the tallest women on the World Cup circuit and have finished no lower than 3rd in the overall World Cup standings the last 6 years. She is truly one of the best in the world.
Anna Fenninger (Austria) checks in at 11/2 odds. Anna has not had a great time in Sochi so far as she finished 8th in the Super combined, while failing to finish the downhill event. She has a chance to make up for that here as the Super G has been regarded as her best event. In the World Cup standings she finished 3rd the last two years in the Super G, and while she has just 1 Super G win on the World Cup tour in her career she has reached the podium in the Super G 12 times out of here 23 career podiums on the World Cup circuit. This will be her best shot to medal in these games.
Dominique Gisin (Switzerland) is next at 10/1 odds. Dominique tied for first in the downhill with Tina Maze and both were awarded gold medals here at Sochi. It was the first-ever tie for gold in an alpine event at the Olympics. Through January 2014, Gisin has 3 World Cup victories, 7 podiums, and 39 top ten finishes. In 2011 she finished 6th in the Super G World Cup standings, but have since finished 22nd and 15th. Her lone Super G win in World cup competition came back in 2011, in Austria. She has momentum after the downhill and is one to watch here.
Julia Mancuso (USA) is next at 11/1 odds. Julia turned in a a nice performance in the Super Combined by taking the bronze and has her eyes now set on the gold in the Super G. The five-time medalist earned a gold medal at Turin in 2006 on the giant slalom and took home a pair of silver medals in Vancouver in the super combined and the downhill, to go along with this year's bronze. In her career, Julia has 35 podiums and 15 of them have come in the Super G with 2 wins (2007. 2011), making this her best event. The last 3 years Julia has finished 3rd, 2nd and 2nd in the Super G World Cup standings. A true threat to medal here.
Tina Weirather was to compete in this event, but a training injury most likely will have her on the sidelines for this one. Still undetermined if she will compete, and there are no odds for her at this time.
Other Notables Odds In The Super G... Elisabeth Goergl- Austria (14/1)... Fabienne Suter- Switzerland (14/1)... Nicole Hosp- Austria (16/1)... Viktoria Rebensburg- Germany (25/1)... Kajsa Kling- Sweden (33/1)... Verena Stuffer- Italy (33/1)... Stacey Cook- USA (40/1)... Carolina Ruiz Castillo- Spain (50/1)
Prediction: An Austrian female has taken the gold in the Super G in the last 2 Olympics and that makes Anna Fenniger one to watch here. I don't think she will win it though and should not even reach the podium as well. I do like Lara Gut to take the gold in this one, with Tina Maze taking the silver and Julia Mancuso grabbing another bronze medal.
Many thanks to Wikipedia, Bleacher Report & NBC Olympics for providing the info needed for this article.
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