In skiing, “Super G” is called that because it’s short for Super Giant Slalom , a race that sits between downhill and giant slalom in speed and turniness.

What “Super G” actually means

  • The “G” comes from giant slalom , one of the classic technical ski races with lots of turns around closely spaced gates.
  • “Super” signals that it’s faster and more open than giant slalom: the gates are set farther apart, speeds are higher, but it’s still not quite as straight‑line fast as full downhill.
  • Put together, Super Giant Slalom describes a course that’s like a “giant slalom on steroids” : big sweeping turns, long radius, very high speeds.

How it fits with other races

Think of the main alpine events like this:

  • Slalom: Slowest, tightest turns, tons of quick direction changes.
  • Giant slalom: A bit faster, wider turns, gates more spread out.
  • Super‑G : “Super” version of giant slalom – much higher speed, fewer but bigger turns.
  • Downhill: Fastest event, fewest turns, maximum speed.

So it’s called the Super G because it literally began as the super‑fast, super‑wide version of the giant slalom event , and the name “Super Giant Slalom” got shortened in everyday use to “Super‑G” or simply “Super G.”

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.