Winter Olympics as a game of chance

Originally posted by IndyGal I was watching women's slalom last night and thought that was a classic case of luck factoring into a timed race. If you saw any of it, the fog was pretty heavy, and heavier for the early skiiers than for the skiiers who ran later. Now how much that affected the early runs, I don't know, but surely something like that could make a difference. Skiers are definitely affected by both weather and starting position. I think this is one reason why total points over the World Cup season are more important than individual wins. Someone can "luck into" a race victory, but consistent performance over a season is what makes a great skier. It also makes it hard on the great skiers because they are expected to win medals at big events such as the Olympics when their performance in any one race is much less consistent than in a sport like swimming. So don't be too hard on Bode Miller...

Originally posted by IndyGal I was watching women's slalom last night and thought that was a classic case of luck factoring into a timed race. If you saw any of it, the fog was pretty heavy, and heavier for the early skiiers than for the skiiers who ran later. Now how much that affected the early runs, I don't know, but surely something like that could make a difference. Skiers are definitely affected by both weather and starting position. I think this is one reason why total points over the World Cup season are more important than individual wins. Someone can "luck into" a race victory, but consistent performance over a season is what makes a great skier. It also makes it hard on the great skiers because they are expected to win medals at big events such as the Olympics when their performance in any one race is much less consistent than in a sport like swimming. So don't be too hard on Bode Miller...