Alpine skiing-What to look out for in the men's super-G

Here's a short guide to the men's super-G at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

WHAT IS IT?

Super-G is the second of the Alpine skiing speed events, after downhill. It requires a combination of speed and technical skill, as the athletes make a series of long turns between gates. It's run over a steeper slope than giant slalom, with the gates placed further apart. Like downhill - and unlike the technical events of slalom and giant slalom - it's decided by the fastest time over a single run.

WHEN IS IT?

It's scheduled for 11 a.m. local time on Friday (0200 GMT, 9 p.m. ET Wednesday), weather permitting. Windy conditions all week have forced the postponement of three other races.

WHO ARE THE FAVOURITES?

Norwegians Kjetil Jansrud and Aksel Lund Svindal have great form in this event. Jansrud won gold at the Sochi Olympics in 2014 and Svindal four years earlier in Vancouver.

Austria's Marcel Hirscher, the six-times World Cup overall winner who took gold in the Alpine combined event on Tuesday, told reporters last week he also expected to go in the super-G.

In the current World Cup season, Jansrud and Svindal are ranked one and two respectively in super-G, followed by four Austrians - Vincent Kriechmayr, Hannes Reichelt, Max Franz and Matthias Mayer. But teams are only allowed up to four athletes per event, so one of the Austrians will miss out.

WHICH COUNTRIES TRADITIONALLY DOMINATE?

In a word, Norway. Kjetil Andre Aamodt won in 1992, 2002 and 2006, meaning the Norwegians currently have four successive victories in the event, and five in total. France, Austria and Germany have one each. (Reporting by Mark Trevelyan, editing by Ed Osmond)