MAIN Sports Olympic Games Olympic Freestyle Skiing

© LaPresse

A combination of showmanship, acrobatics and derring-do, Freestyle Skiing is always a star crowd pleaser at the Winter Olympic Games.

Better known as "hotdogging" in the United States, where it orginated in the 1960's, its creator was Norwegian skiier Stein Eriksen, who had held several world championship titles throughout his career in the 1950's and was considered one of the sport's first superstars.

Upon retirement, Eriksen became a ski coach and instructor in the U.S., where he was inspired by the moves of young American skateboarders, and adapted their techniques to instantly attract an upcoming generation of new school skiiers.

Today at the Winter Games, freestyle skis are noticeably shorter than regulation, to allow for better control during hotdogger's quick negotiation of moguls and breathtaking aerial jumps and somersaults.

More about Olympic freestyle skiing around the Web:

Freestyle Skiing - Vancouver 2010 - Complete overview including historical details, events, complete venue & schedule information, ticket information, photo gallery, training tips and related sports terms.

International Olympic Committee - Freestyle Skiing - Overview of the freestyle competitions, list of events, Olympic records, athlete profiles, picture gallery.

FIS Ski - Freestyle - Use the left-hand menu to surf athlete biographies, results, standings, records, schedules, pictures and more.

U.S. Ski Association - Freestyle - The latest news, athlete rankings, competition schedules, downloadable forms and publications.

also see -> Jeremy Bloom | Winter X Games