The Super Giant Slalom is an Alpine skiing discipline. It is usually referred to as Super G and is a "speed" event, along with the faster Downhill event; the Giant Slalom and Slalom events are known as the "technical" disciplines.
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Super G was first run at the World Cup level in December 1982 at Val-d'Isère, France; the winner was Peter Müller of Switzerland. Four seasons later, it was added to the World Championships, held at Crans-Montana, Switzerland in February 1987. Swiss stars Pirmin Zurbriggen and Maria Walliser won gold medals to become the first world champions in the event.
Super Giant Slalom made its Olympic debut in 1988 in Calgary, where Franck Piccard of France and Sigrid Wolf of Austria took gold at Nakiska.
Hermann Maier of Austria is widely regarded as the greatest Super G skier to date, with 24 World Cup victories, five World Cup titles, a World Championship, and an Olympic gold medal. His proficiency in Super G is attributed to his thorough course inspection and his aggressive course tactics whereby he opted for the most direct and dangerous line down the hill.
Another notable specialist is Kjetil André Aamodt of Norway, a triple gold medalist in Olympic Super G races, winning in 1992, 2002, and 2006.
In an attempt to increase safety, the 2004 season saw the FIS impose minimum ski lengths for the Super Giant Slalom for the first time; to 205 centimetres (81 in) for men, 200 centimetres (79 in) for women. A minimum turning radius of 33 metres (108 ft) continues to apply.
In 1996, Sega released an arcade game based on the Super Giant Slalom event, called "Sega Ski Super G". It is more of a straight racer, like most Sega arcade racing games. A sequel to the game, Ski Champ, was released in early 1998 in arcades.