Downhill is the fastest and most adrenaline filled event of all the alpine skiing disciplines, and the Beijing 2022 downhill course has the reputation for being one of the fastest and most difficult in Olympic history.

The course, known as 'the Rock’, is 2704m long, starts at a high altitude of 2050m and descends 765m.

Greta, off the back of a terrific performance in the women’s super-g, will be aiming to improve on finishing 20th in 2018 at Pyeongchang.

Weather conditions in China caused downhill training delays and cancellations, with heavy snow and low visibility making it extremely difficult for competitors to safely negotiate the course.

Visibility is critical for the downhill due to the high speeds, the need to see at least three gates ahead and minimal sudden direction changes or corrections.

Despite the challenges, Greta has had incredibly strong performances in training. She was only 3.2 seconds off the top ranked skier in a large field of 47 competitors in the last training run yesterday.

Tuesday’s field of 36 racers includes American star Mikaela Shiffrin, who will be looking for her first podium finish of the Games. Lara Gut-Behrami of Switzerland is searching for another medal after already winning a gold and bronze in Beijing so far.

Icy patches on the course will be a significant challenge for competitors, and will no doubt cause plenty of headaches as it did in the men’s downhill.

Women’s downhill competitors must ski through all 37 gates marked by red flags. They are spread on the course at wider distances than the other alpine skiing disciplines.

Downhill features the longest and least winding alpine course, enabling racers to reach speeds of 130km per hour. Each skier makes a single run down the course and the fastest time determines the winner.

Catch Greta in action from 2pm AEDT.

Shannon Knaus

#HaveAGo