Sochi Olympics 2014 | Ted Ligety: Giant Slalom (GS) Skier's Unique Turning

Sochi Olympics 2014 | Ted Ligety: Giant Slalom (GS) Skier's Unique Turning | The New York Times

Рет қаралды 1,224,379

10 жыл бұрын

No skier in the world carves turns the way Ted Ligety does. The American, who is competing in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, has practically invented a new way of skiing.
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Пікірлер: 135

@user-cn7xk3os4f Ай бұрын

Awesome video of the smooth, pure talent of the best GS skier ever!!! Thank you for this beautifuly filmed piece of skiing history.

@alexbennion9087 2 жыл бұрын

Just watched this again, and it's still the best piece on ski racing ever done.

@barbamatteo Жыл бұрын

For a skier.. long time skier like me.. this is amazing, pure research of perfect turn.

@dimkiri 10 жыл бұрын

New way of skiing!!! Certainly NOT. It is Simply that Mr Ligety Carves his skis in absolute Perfection and this is the reason why his body lyies perpenticular to the slope. He is able to utilize the full potential of the carving ski technology and mostly he is trained to do this under high centrifugal forces and without any performance fluctuation from turn to turn which makes him win races with the difference of second. I would define his "NEW" technique as the absolute manifestation of carving turns on the skis. Well done Ted!!!

@VaiosK 10 жыл бұрын

Not new way at all. If you're an experienced skier and have experimented with different use of steps then you might have reach to a point like Ted. Of course not in such speeds like him and steep slopes but in a familiar manner.

@tommygrand1197 10 жыл бұрын

***** this is completely false. I challenge either of you to find me one world cup racer dead or alive that starts his or her turn even close to as early as Ted. better yet find me someone who finishes the turn earlier then Ted when he is skiing well. Ted Ligety has figured out how to keep his body going straighter down the fall line then any other skier. He has figured out how to work the new skis. Someone else will soon, but no one has yet

@VaiosK 10 жыл бұрын

Tommy Grand I insist, Ted uses both skis during the turn, He starts earlier the turn and exit with maximum speed because of this. He accelerates out of the turn, which gives him a momentum to the next turn. This technique is not new. Since 2000 in a Kaprun ski camp an Austrian coach were telling exactly this. But YES you are right Ted is the FIRST that achieving this technique in a competitive context. And as you say only when he skis well. Should you check if the performance correlates to the steepness of the slope?

@dimkiri 10 жыл бұрын

Tommy Grand Tommy Yes You are right. No one else does so as Ted. The point is that it is not a matter of new technique as much as it is a matter of being able to apply the components of the technique itself effectively. Ted is the only who can ,at the moment, do that consistently and effectively and that is why he wins!!! It is a matter more of muscular Power, strength , coordination and training, but not a new technique!! ' What Ted does certainly is extraordinary beyond any doubt. Best regards.

@downtownlife 10 жыл бұрын

you totally missed that part about they dont use shaped skis for GS. That is him performing and getting the full arc turn radius - driving those skis, instead of skid turning and producing waves of snow and slower times.

@philipschwartz5465 8 жыл бұрын

First, this is an absolutely brilliant video. And I'm grateful that The Times undertook the effort to produce it. But as someone who has coached ski racing and taught skiing for decades, I have to chime in and say this: What's described in this video is merely what I'd call strong ski technique (OK, very strong ski technique). Every good-to-great skier can pull off the technique described in this video. Which means, this does a dis-service to the brilliant talent that is Ted Ligety. Every skier on the World Cup is doing what is explained in this video (sorry to say, every great skier on your home hill is pulling off this technique, too). Ted is doing something much more special. And this video, while brilliant, doesn't do his talent justice (because his talent transcends the best of the best).

@samanthadanziger7651 8 жыл бұрын

+Philip Schwartz As a skier for more than 50 years (and taking and giving numerous lessons), I cannot disagree with you more. The technique Ted shows in this video is extremely hard to do and very very few great skiers can do it in such an efficient manner. This technique may be able to be copied on slopes with no pitch, but only great skiers can pull this off on pitch consistently.

@MrXMI27 8 жыл бұрын

+samantha danziger yep

@helenek5678 4 жыл бұрын

@@samanthadanziger7651 nothing new here at all. just plain old, old school, good carve technique!

@IStMl 4 ай бұрын

try consistently achieving suhc angles on a GS steep@@helenek5678

@tainicon4639 3 ай бұрын

This technique was novel… on the specific skies FIS was pushing at the time. No one was performing proper carved turns on 195 35 meter skis with any frequency. Then ligety was one of the first to perfect it. They quickly went back to 30 meter radius skis shortly after the world cupers were going to fast. The whole intention was to slow them down with the longer radius skis.

@wishpowder4307 9 жыл бұрын

A couple years ago I was race training in colorado and there was a course set up for the olympians and one for a training program so it ended up that I raced side by side by ted!

@romanpadour6077 8 жыл бұрын

Wish Powder side by side means Ted .................................................... minute later you ? :-)

@stewpitgal4136 6 жыл бұрын

lol i know this is late and off topic but a few years ago same thing happened to me except w/ Tina Maze and her private team on Mölltal.... and it was extremely foggy that day so yeah... I kinda messed up so I kinda skied like a good quarter of her course...LOL luckily nobody saw me

@thechildren8359 3 жыл бұрын

If you're a ski racer and you want to see some crazy racers, find a thanksgiving race camp at Copper mountain. Same thing happened to me, all the olympians and world cup people come to copper during the fall.

@jeffm5939 10 жыл бұрын

awe inspiring turns.

@jordansullivan5764 6 жыл бұрын

Every winter I am reminded that the word "slalom" exists...and every year I am delighted.

@Themark915 9 жыл бұрын

Amazing

@rinohunter6190 3 жыл бұрын

Ligety split, best of all time!

@JB91710 5 жыл бұрын

1:53 A LESSON for All skiers and racers! This is the Single most important thing to think about when your are making turns from Snow Plow to Racing. This isn't the best angle to make my point but it works. As he comes out of the right hand gate and crosses the hill he is on his Left foot. 1:55, THAT is where the next turn starts and this is what You have to do to make the skis do what they were Designed to do. When he decides to start his next turn, watch how his upper body Stops going across the hill but his skis keep going. When they highlight the left foot, weight is already transferring to the uphill foot but the upper body is staying back and beginning to fall down the hill in the direction he wants to go. 1:59 Because the feet keep going and the body has stopped, notice how his legs have gone from and angle on the uphill edge to being vertical. That is when the skis flatten out. 2:00 As they continue, his upper body position has Pulled his hips down the hill and now the feet have gone so far out from under him that the skis have now rolled over onto the downhill edges and the skis turn. 2:03 For a beginning recreational skier to a racer, this is what you think to make this happen. 1. "I want to go straight down the hill." This will make you stop your upper body travel across the hill and focus on getting your upper body positioned to face and lean down the hill. Your skis NEED you to do that so you will be in a position to balance on the uphill ski when it begins to turn. Your skis turn your feet, not the other way around! 2. "Plant my Left pole down the hill." That will help you face and lean down the hill. 3. "Take my weight off the downhill foot." This Has to happen instantly. Think of standing sideways on a staircase with your left foot on the lower step with your upper body is facing down the stairs. When you get off the left foot, you are stepping up onto the upper step. Your balance has been destroyed at that point so you will begin to fall down the hill. Cut a wedge in a tree and that is the way it will fall. 4. The uphill ski is Still going across the hill but your hip is still pulling the ski over onto the inside edge and the ski turns. Because you kept your upper body in a vertical position (That is more for skiers not as much for racers) you will be in the best position to balance on the right foot. 2:15 Change the word Push to Stand. Push is what it Feels like but is something that happens automatically when you just Stand on it. Gravity creates the feeling, not you thinking about it. 2:24 For all you Harb devotees, look at his right leg. Do you see him bending his knee "Sideways" into the turn? No! His upped body falling down the hill and his ski going across the hill makes his entire leg lean over. Harb describes what skiing Looks Like ONLY! He doesn't Teach you how to make it happen. 2:31 Get off the Right foot! Stepping off not Pushing off is more accurate. Pushing is what it Feels like, stepping up onto the uphill ski is what is actually happening.

@helenek5678 4 жыл бұрын

too "wordy" there JB. .. making it too complicated! simply work your skis as if pedaling a bicycle. (for the advanced, add in javelin turns) thats it. done! everything else just falls into place.

@keirfarnum6811 4 жыл бұрын

JB91710 When I was racing, for a few years in the beginning of my career, I was waist breaking and using too much knee angulation. It wasn’t until I learned to get my hips forward and make the entirety of my lower body angulate from the torso down that I learned how to really make a good turn. It allowed my knee to straighten out and I was able to get a much more skeletally stacked position through the turn and made the amount of my body that was doing the angulating increase (i.e., the center of the upper body was farther from the ski.) Incidentally, I was skiing with Alyeska Ski Club and the University of Alaska Anchorage when Harald was coaching at Alyeska; at first for Glacier Creek Academy and then another independent team that he started. Interesting man. Very opinionated about ski technique, but he did coach Tommy Moe onto the US Team and he definitely knows a lot.

@loonaya 4 жыл бұрын

@@keirfarnum6811 I don't understand what is the optimal technique for someone who is not a world class racer. Ligety said push off, Harald is saying in his videos you should never push off, you should tip the skis from your ankles. What is the optimal change into the other turn? Is it changing the pressure off of one leg to the other with the tipping at the same time, or you first tip and the transfer occurs naturally or what? Does anyone know the steps. For example in tennis forehand, the kinetic chain is very obvious, you start from the hip and so on, shoulder, elbow and wrist happen naturally if they are relaxed, while in skiing almost everyone is saying different stuff. I want to know what to do first so I can go from one turn to the other very quickly

@NikosPer 2 жыл бұрын

JB91710 very nicely written! thanx for the right explanations...

@JB91710 3 ай бұрын

@@loonaya There are doers, and then there are doers who can Think outside the box to see what they are actually doing and explain it in words that a non-doer would need to understand. That's called being a Three-Dimensional Thinker or, a Teacher. The rest are Two-Dimensional Reactors that can only describe what it looks and feels like. That's not teaching. That's show with no tell.

@PeterPenAC 3 ай бұрын

This is art!

@downtownlife 10 жыл бұрын

High risk, high reward. No falls, no balls.

@S3RAVA3LM Жыл бұрын

Beautiful form and style. Graceful is a sign of masterful which is August which is zenith.

@nutsajangveladze4297 4 жыл бұрын

i love him

@guyfrench4024 10 жыл бұрын

Wow, very impressive!

@guyfrench4024 9 жыл бұрын

Bonne année à toi aussi Isabelle! Au plaisir de skier avec toi bientôt! Monica et Guy XXX

@jch8864 2 жыл бұрын

Cool

@tainicon4639 3 ай бұрын

The apex was marked incorrectly. The point marked was actually the line intersecting with the fall line which is the end of the turn. The apex is above the gate. Ligety (obviously) narrates the terms correctly but the animation is off.

@haleymccormick1239 10 жыл бұрын

Awesome

@wt2759 2 жыл бұрын

🤣 That edge angle is actually insane. I can’t even comprehend how he is doing that. Truly Amazing.

@shooter7a 2 жыл бұрын

practice practice practice. drills drills drills

@bwilliams060 10 жыл бұрын

Not sure it's a new technique. I think he's just better at it. Go Ted!

@mrKoncpom 10 жыл бұрын

Well it is new. But it should have a label "don't try this at home". Ever tried speeding down the slope and then violently switching the leading ski before the apex? My legs could not manage the load; my brains could not cope with the speed. As good as it looks, you need hydraulic cylinders for legs and the psyche of a maniac. Good thing I am somehow still in one piece, though.

@bwilliams060 10 жыл бұрын

whats new?

@lukasobi 8 жыл бұрын

+Ben Williams the technique

@tainicon4639 4 жыл бұрын

Ben Williams I know it’s old... at the time this video was made the FIS made changes to ski turn radius (size of the natural arc of the ski) from about 20-25 meter to 35 meter. The courses didn’t changes though (16-25 meter) so everyone was sliding around until ted figured out how to properly arc the ski which involved changes to the timing and body position of the turn initiation (you basically skip part of the start of the turn) and that’s why he was so dominant because no one else could do it.

@helenek5678 4 жыл бұрын

@@mrKoncpom if you are having to be "violent" then something is seriously wrong with your technique! nothing new here...

@shooter7a 2 жыл бұрын

I would not say it was a new way of skiing, just a very specialized and optimized technique. What Ligety did was effectively solve a math problem. If you ski a GS course on lower radius skis, you can go straight and bit, turn sharper, then go straight. As the turn radius (per the rules) gets larger....you have less time to go straight. As the turn radius gets larger still, one turn effectively links to another...tangent arc to tangent arc. So you have less and less time to transition. Ted put all his effort into making transitions super fast and developing high edge angles very early in the turn. I bet he did a lot of One Ski drills to make this possible. Other skiers who did not have the technique to make transitions this fast would have no choice but to pivot/skid just a bit then pick up a carve after scrubbing some speed and getting the turn started. This explains some of Teds massive time margins.

@tainicon4639 3 ай бұрын

It was new in the context of the weird gs Ski Radius changes at the time. They went from like sub 30 meter radius to 35 meter while staying in the same 25 of less meter gate distance. Almost everyone started stivoting to compensate (which was the intention, they wanted to slow the event down). Once ligety demonstrated it was possible to arc these skis like the older ones other people started doing it too and the event actually got faster (forcing the larger radius ski to make a tight turn generated more energy when loading). So soon after this they changed the radius back to 30 for safety reasons.

@shooter7a 3 ай бұрын

@@tainicon4639 I think we are saying the same thing....

@tainicon4639 3 ай бұрын

@@shooter7a I may be illiterate

@ianyapxw 8 жыл бұрын

There's nothing 'new' about this technique, it's just doing the same thing better. It's not like his opponents aren't trying to achieve a high edge angle and strong early pressure... Seems like another video by mainstream media targeted at people who know nothing. Something that would count as "unique turning" would be picking a different line from all your opponents, much like what the fosbury flop was to high jumping.

@banana-dw3ez 5 жыл бұрын

Exactly, higher ankle and hip mobility + more ducked style allows him to get better angles, not a new technique lol. It's something every racer works on massively off-season. Svindal was talking in a Head-sponsored video about the physics of "pushing" and having a different flex of the ski itself (midsection to toe). Everybody is pushing, ducking, angling.

@JB91710 5 жыл бұрын

Very good ianyapxw!

@michaelblack9776 5 жыл бұрын

Except that not one single racer on the World Cup can do it. So yeah, it's "new."

@viktorhamori6572 3 жыл бұрын

Its absolutely new, brand new.

@tainicon4639 3 ай бұрын

It was relearning the previous technique but on longer radius skis. It was new to the new equipment

@scheinzeinz 9 жыл бұрын

look like they turn easily!?! great Mr GS!!!

@Underhills 7 жыл бұрын

I tried a new pair of GS skis last year and my thighs hurt like hell. They are very heavy and hard to turn, but then again very stable in high speeds.

@Lehmann108 7 жыл бұрын

Their curve is what was being raced in the 1970's. Parabolic curved skis are ridiculously easy to turn so in racing you can have really sloppy technique and get away with it. With the milder curves you need perfect technique to carve quickly and efficiently.

@BeautifuLakesStreamsBiologists 2 жыл бұрын

If you angulate more at the knee, you will find the power of the ski will starting working for you much better. Recent ski design with more sidecut doesn't require as much, but the more you can do the easier the turns become.

@Underhills 2 жыл бұрын

@@BeautifuLakesStreamsBiologists My technique must be terrible in terms of energy efficiency cause my legs are totally shot just after my first run. I'm talking normal "tourist skiing". I get totally wore out riding both my slalom skis and my all mountain skis. It's like my legs are building lactose acid straight from the start. I'm forced to make stops during the course. It's not that I'm terribly bad shape cause I'm able to walk long distances and lift weights etc. But it's something going on when I ski that drains my power to zero after just seconds. I feel stupid cause I see much older people skiing much longer than me cause of this. They ski for hours, but I'm trough after an hour :(

@BeautifuLakesStreamsBiologists 2 жыл бұрын

@@Underhills More angulation at the knee always helps because it decambers the ski to make it turn easier, but you just have to ski through the fatigue... happy skiing!

@tainicon4639 3 ай бұрын

@@Underhillslinking gs or slalom turns is massively exhausting. A slalom tune is less than 1 second and each turn is like doing a 1 leg squat with 2-4 times your body weight at the apex of the turn. Even more brutal is with proper technique you’ll be flexed the entire time (essentially in a wall sit position) and extending your legs as you throw them out to the side returning to the flexed position in transition. These turns are insanely athletic and orders of magnitude more brutal than normal skiing… but also sooooo much more fun haha

@mettflow2648 6 ай бұрын

still the king of style

@highthai7 10 жыл бұрын

When you fall, don't give up You never known You can becomes one of the Winner !

@78798789077 10 жыл бұрын

wow

@atomicwalker2515 6 жыл бұрын

Starting a turn early is a too general statement, as, you have to take into consideration the distance between the gates how steep the slope is etc. For example, starting a turn early when you don't have much speed in a set with "open" gates would be a really bad idea as it does not help you generate speed. Actually, to be more precise, it is better to start the new turn as late as possible ( *WHEN* your transition from one turn to the other is quick enough not to cost you time). Hirsher is the best example, he is so strong enough that he can hold the turn for way longer than the other skiers without losing time as he can turn his skis very fast. Is it a coincidenece that he's always first? I don't think so.

@Exercise_as_Medicine Жыл бұрын

Wow..

@vipahman 4 жыл бұрын

Ligety for President!

@randalbladel2817 Жыл бұрын

Technically brilliant.

@williamspostoronnim9845 3 жыл бұрын

Отличный горнолыжник: он как бы изобрёл эффективный способ входа в поворот посредством опережающего броска корпусом. Многие горнолыжники этот приём подхватили. Но в последнее время у Тэда что-то не заладилось. Право, жаль! Но надеемся на лучшее. Удач ему!

@AstroNitish 5 жыл бұрын

Did you sell ski

@johnnyskied 6 жыл бұрын

Nothing new here! I was using this technique back in the late 90s when I raced. Worked well until I was in a career ending crash and stopped my race progression.

@Relja22 4 жыл бұрын

I wish u enjoyed those days back in 90s when u raced :/

@keirfarnum6811 4 жыл бұрын

Skiologist What was the lowest you got your points to (USSA or FIS)?

@evelynvegara5709 5 жыл бұрын

I liked it when I would win a run buy a sec, then beet my time on the second run buy a full sec. When people come up to you and tell you you run was so good it makes it all worth wile. When you stop nor- am coaches in there tracks to each you ski. When your at the World Cup down hill and you clearly have the fastest skis ! Cool

@tshred9412 9 жыл бұрын

OSM

@579gooney 9 жыл бұрын

A lot of footage training at Copper Mountain

@larryjackson6262 7 жыл бұрын

His description of advancing to uphill ski sounds a lot like Stenmark in 70's and 80's. Is it really just old school? action Jackson

@helenek5678 4 жыл бұрын

you absolutely nailed it Larry! well done!

@adonistopofmen2571 2 жыл бұрын

cool .....

@bff101bubblegum8 10 жыл бұрын

Ted is so fast! its so awesome! I might get to meet him!AAAH

@JB91710 5 жыл бұрын

1:18 This is what the best racers are doing. It's called consistency in turning Technically Correct. Strong concentration, discipline and planning ahead is required to win.

@rinohunter6190 4 жыл бұрын

High early push uphill relaxed upper body

@jordansullivan5764 6 жыл бұрын

Haha hearing the super serious voice-over by a NYT reporter really makes the skiing video come to life.

@singlefather01 Жыл бұрын

You don’t see many skiers speeding through turn. I consider it more like I am on the swing. Each turn I get faster and faster like I am on the swing going higher and higher.

@markeaton2003 2 жыл бұрын

Ted soars like a bird.

@scarface548 2 жыл бұрын

@0:23 do racers not clip on their last two buckles?

@tainicon4639 3 ай бұрын

My racing boots are like 10% narrower than a normal aggressive boot and downsized two sizes (I wear a 9-9.5 shoe my boot is a 7-7.5). My feet go numb if I leave them buckled for more than a run. So you just leave them unbuckled until you are about to ski.

@rudolfmair6324 9 жыл бұрын

looks like Ligety has lost his touch, Marcel Hirscher has taken over.

@NaomiChambers 7 жыл бұрын

This looks really difficult.

@helenek5678 4 жыл бұрын

not at all Naomi. get with a good old school PSIA instructor. They will have you feeling this in about an hour!

@pierrecollette2013 10 жыл бұрын

Bon slalom

@ketenlievworkout Жыл бұрын

Phenomenal skier. Looks like perfect gs skiing.... But then comes Odermatt and... You are like... Wtf?! 🤷

@XueTech 2 жыл бұрын

GS racers finally learning something from race car drivers.

@bjornmichels1174 4 жыл бұрын

Using bode as an example of not skiing the perfect turn is not cool guys. Bode is the most impressive skier of all time

@tainicon4639 3 ай бұрын

But he’s infamous for not skiing the correct line. It was routinely joked that “you are not bode, do not imitate his form”.

@zydecbro 10 жыл бұрын

we are witnessing the Legity era You go Ligety Split!!

@emilsundqvist9527 7 жыл бұрын

Emil Sundqvist.

@agradina7468 9 жыл бұрын

you need to have strong legs for that its not so easy as it seems and also no ice

@lukakvavilashvili 8 жыл бұрын

+agradina Yep this year he is not doing so well on ice

@Lehmann108 7 жыл бұрын

Courses are salted down so they practically are ice! Without doing this there would be huge ruts in them.

@boykorda 10 жыл бұрын

Ligety Ligety Ligety GOO!

@SonyaWong 9 жыл бұрын

bigfishpondhome1 - you must not ski race - otherwise you would understand the matter of fact comments. Sorry, you don't get it. The rest of the crew (ski racers and Parents) get what his technique means for this sport. Half of it is mental - you need to go in big.

@torrymarrs2642 10 жыл бұрын

hELLO bODE mILLER!!

@horobitch7599 5 жыл бұрын

His skill is so so high level!. but too skillful to run fast ironically.

@OmgDefrozen 10 жыл бұрын

@levelheading5686 4 жыл бұрын

Ski comment, have fun.

@death2pc 6 жыл бұрын

Interesting fact: Oprah taught Ted EVERYTHING he knows. Really. Oprah is THE master of skiing. And everything else. Really.

@florinsi 7 жыл бұрын

i thought he hated the new skis.... now they are good cause they require a good technique .... aah ?!?

@helenek5678 4 жыл бұрын

nothin new here at all. what was old is new again i guess. Ted is simply incorporating old school skate/pedaling technique on the newer designed skis.

@RevAlKhemy 2 жыл бұрын

he is in great danger /austrains will well you know

@andersbodin1551 2 жыл бұрын

nice to see a skier who is almost as good at carving as a snowboarder.

@randalbladel2817 Жыл бұрын

I see a lot more skier carving than I see snowboarders carving. The boarders are usually skidding, if for no other reason than they usually have a lot less edge to work with.

@tainicon4639 3 ай бұрын

lol, you can carve so much more powerfully on skis then on snowboards. Put a snowboarding in the course and watch what happens

@apollomorris9920 4 жыл бұрын

There is nothing new for this technique when you make your transition into your new turn you'd let your hip drop down the hill. . Everything else just follows after that. He's not doing anything new