Sigrid Wolf won the first Olympic gold medal in women’s super-G at Calgary 1988. The Austrian racer captured the inaugural Olympic women’s super-G competition at Nakiska.
Super-G combines elements of downhill and giant slalom. It is faster than giant slalom, but its course contains more direction changes and more gates than a downhill course. Unlike downhill, racers traditionally have limited official training before competition.
Wolf finished ahead of Switzerland’s Michela Figini and West Germany’s Marina Kiehl. Her victory gave Austria an Olympic title in the new speed discipline, which had been added to the Calgary alpine program.
Super-G remains a one-run event at the Olympics and World Championships. That makes it different from giant slalom, where racers complete two runs and combine their times. The event’s name is short for super giant slalom.