14 Established 1961 Sports Wednesday, January 3, 2018 Speed merchants still kings of the hill as skiers seek a place in history Snowboarding are doing a great job to attract younger audiences LONDON: Olympic downhills have a special allure, hurtling in excess of 130kph down the mountain-and with the fastest and bravest Alpine skiers going full tilt the winner often a surprise from far down the list of for gold and a place in history. favourites. For US audiences the women’s race on Feb. Pyeongchang will see no change there but newer 21 could be an even bigger deal than the men’s, with events more targeted at millenials and younger audi- American speed queen Lindsey Vonn and all-rounder ences may be muscling in on the limelight enjoyed by Mikaela Shiffrin two of the more recognisable names on the traditional blue riband races. the slopes. Vonn, the most successful women’s World The mixed team event, run already at world champi- Cup ski racer of all-time with a record 78 victories, has onships and featuring male and female skiers in a paral- a portfolio of sponsors that includes Under Armour, lel slalom format with races lasting some 25 seconds, Red Bull and Head and was ranked by Forbes as the should be a hit on its Olympic debut. third highest earning athlete at the 2010 Vancouver “I think it will be one of the highlights of the Olympics. NBC television said Pyeongchang, 14 hours Olympics,” women’s Alpine race director Atle Skaardal, ahead of US Eastern Time (ET), will be their “most live a two times men’s Super-G world champion for primetime” Winter Games yet and live Alpine skiing will Norway, said before the season started. Freestyle ski- feature on 11 of the 18 nights. ing, slopestyle and big air The US network has snowboarding- another already reported increased eye-catching 2018 Olympic viewing figures for the newcomer-have the added North American rounds of appeal of proving more I think it will the World Cup season. accessible to skiers from Eurosport Chief Executive non-Alpine nations. be one of the Peter Hutton said his broad- Traditional Alpine skiing caster was also seeing has been woven into the highlights of increased viewing figures fabric of the Games since across snow sports, with all 1936, even if the men’s Olympics the Olympic competitions to downhill did not appear be available on mobile until 1948, and a core ele- devices. “Sports such as ment for broadcasters and the commercial sector alike. snowboarding are doing a great job to attract younger That remains the case, despite the increasing range audiences,” he added. of media platforms and fragmentation of the audience Eurosport will also, for the first time, have a dedicat- as a whole. “Alpine is always going to be the blue ed ‘Radical Van’ mobile social media studio at the riband,” Matt Humphreys, winter sports boss at the UK PyeongChang Snowpark and other venues to cater for division of ski suppliers Head told Reuters. new audiences. The growth of the newer sports, howev- “When you look at these other events like er, was not cannibalising the traditional Alpine events slopestyle, skicross, the younger sports, they do cap- and was in fact benefiting them, according Rob ture the imagination probably a little bit better than Prazmark, founder and chief executive of 21 Sports and American speed queen Lindsey Vonn Alpine because it’s newer and fresher. “But ... I think it’s Entertainment Marketing Group. always going to be the Alpine that wins out.” “That’s a good thing, for the Olympic Winter Games, that they are able to change up the sport to appeal to a The whole business of Alpine is growing. ages from 34 to 21. My 21-year-old has never been on DANGEROUS AND DAUNTING younger and a different demographic,” he told Reuters “Downhill Alpine is still extreme,” added Prazmark, skis. She’s only been on a snowboard,” he said. Reflecting its big ticket status, the men’s downhill in a telephone interview. who has been involved in every Olympics since 1984 as “And she doesn’t quite understand the attraction of will be held on the opening Sunday of the Games at the “I think interest in Alpine grows because of the a consultant and rights negotiator. That said, he was skis. “So that’s where there’s a big shift into the extreme Jeongseong Alpine centre. About as extreme as it gets, addition of different or extreme sports-or sports that aware from his own family how the recreational land- sports, I believe. “It’s a generational, millennial thing as the dangerous and daunting discipline sees racers are really most popular with a younger demographic. scape was changing. “I’ve got four kids. They run in well.”— Reuters Bears dump Fox, One-legged Without NHL Lions ditch Egyptian soccer players, Team Caldwell, Cardinals’ players aim for a USA hockey Arians retires league of their own looks to Europe DETROIT: The Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions rang in CAIRO: A group of Egyptian soccer players have the New Year by firing their head coaches, while Arizona formed a team for one-legged players, hoping to start Cardinals’ Bruce Arians ended a stellar career when he league for disabled players in the country. “The Miracle NEW YORK: Stanley Cup winner Brian Gionta will announced his retirement on Monday after five years at Team,” consists of twenty-five players from across captain a US men’s Olympic ice hockey team made the helm. However, on what traditionally has become Egypt who meet twice a week to train on a pitch in up of players from European leagues or the North known as ‘Black Monday’, the carnage was relatively light Cairo. While the team began training in freestyle soc- American development ranks at next month’s in the National Football League. John Fox was sent pack- cer - a non-competitive art where players perform Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. ing following three seasons at the Bears, while Detroit tricks with a ball - they soon decided to aim higher. Gionta, who has played 15 years in the NHL, was sacked Jim Caldwell after four campaigns, bringing to six “I started bringing the people in and coach Yousry, named on Monday amongst more than a dozen lit- the number of teams publicly searching for a new head the team coach, called me to start training me on tle-known Americans playing professionally in coach. The New York Giants ditched head coach Ben freestyle football,” team captain Mahmoud Ibrahim Europe, along with a hodgepodge of minor lea- McAdoo four weeks ago and on Sunday the Indianapolis Tawfik, who lost a leg in a road accident more than 20 guers and ex-NHL players for the Feb. 9-25 Colts dumped head coach Chuck Pagano after six seasons years ago, told Reuters. “I told him I have another Bruce Arians Olympics. He is the only player in the squad to have and the Oakland Raiders dispensed with Jack Del Rio fol- dream of becoming a real life soccer player not just a previous Olympic experience, having played for the lowing three campaigns. Del Rio’s departure was perhaps freestyle footballer who has skills.” The team hope to the only surprise, with the others widely expected. But it U.S. at the 2006 Games in Turin and is well aware inspire other disabled Egyptians to take up the sport was not one-way traffic to the exit door on Monday, with the team has precious little time together to try and team. Fox previously spent four seasons in Denver, guiding and eventually establish a federation which could regu- challenge for a medal in Pyeongchang. Hue Jackson retaining his position at the Cleveland Browns the team to a losing Super Bowl appearance in the 2013 despite presiding over a winless season. late a domestic league for the disabled. “The biggest challenge is getting the team to gel season. Caldwell leaves Detroit after compiling a 36-28 An emotional Arians announced his retirement after record, the first head coach at the franchise to compile a “In each governorate we are asking the players to together as quick as possible,” Gionta, who won a compiling a 49-30-1 record at Arizona. “The tears you see winning record since the early 1970s. form a team to spread the game,” said team coach Stanley Cup in 2003 with the New Jersey Devils, are really tears of joy, peace,” said the 65-year-old, who The Lions made the playoffs twice under Caldwell, but Yousry Mohamed Ibrahim. Despite their enthusiasm, told reporters on Monday. “We have four practices has suffered some health problems recently, including a have not won a post-season game since the 1991 campaign. the team faces a raft of challenges: a lack of funding, a or so before we come together and start competing kidney cancer scare. “I’ll miss the players. I’ll miss coming “I believe Jim is one of the finest leaders we’ve ever had as paucity of special playing crutches and difficulties find- in games.” Next month’s Olympics are the first out of the locker room, hearing the national anthem our head coach,” Lions owner Martha Firestone Ford said ing a regular pitch for training. since 1994 not to include players from the National because it still gets me.” Before becoming a head coach, in a statement. Jackson, meanwhile, has been retained by Amputee Football has special rules: seven leg- Hockey League. The league said last April it would Arians built a strong resume as an assistant coach, includ- the Browns, receiving a vote of confidence from owner amputee players play on each opposing team, and the not release players after failing to reach a deal with ing two Super Bowl rings during his time with the Jimmy Haslam.