giant slalom
Loading your saved state.
giant slalom
A discipline in alpine skiing in which the gates are farther apart than in slalom, requiring higher speeds and wider turns.
Er gewann die Goldmedaille im Riesenslalom bei den Olympischen Spielen.
He won the gold medal in giant slalom at the Olympic Games.
The word is made up of 'Riesen' and 'Slalom'. 'Riese' means 'giant', so a 'Riesenslalom' is literally a 'giant slalom' — which points to the larger distances and wider turns.
Der Riesenslalom ist technisch anspruchsvoller als eine normale Abfahrt.
Giant slalom is more technically demanding than a normal downhill race.
The component 'Riesen-' is often used as a prefix to express that something is very big. You find it in words like 'Riesenproblem' (huge problem) or 'Riesenfreude' (great joy).
Der Sieg war für sie eine Riesenüberraschung.
The victory was a huge surprise for her.
When talking about participating in this discipline, you use the preposition 'in' with the dative: 'im Riesenslalom' (in giant slalom).
Die Athletin startet morgen im Riesenslalom.
The athlete is competing in giant slalom tomorrow.
In a sports context, 'Riesenslalom' (giant slalom) is often combined with verbs such as 'fahren' (to ski/race), 'gewinnen' (to win), 'trainieren' (to train), or 'starten' (to compete/start).
Er hat den ganzen Sommer für den Riesenslalom trainiert.
He trained all summer for the giant slalom.
departure / exit
'die Abfahrt' and 'der Riesenslalom' are both disciplines in alpine skiing. They can therefore be confused when talking about ski races. 'die Abfahrt' is a very fast downhill race on a long course. It is strongly focused on speed. 'der Riesenslalom' has gates that are farther apart than in slalom, and the skiers make wide turns. So if you are talking about the fast downhill course, 'Abfahrt' fits. If you mean a race with gates and wide turns, 'Riesenslalom' is more precise.
Morgen trainiert sie den Riesenslalom auf der neuen Piste.
Tomorrow she will train for the giant slalom on the new slope.
Bei der Abfahrt erreichte die Fahrerin eine sehr hohe Geschwindigkeit.
In the downhill race, the skier reached a very high speed.