Ski racing battle of the sexes?

For people who understand a bit about ski racing... what do you think of Lindsey Vonn's proposal to compete in the men's downhill at Lake Louise?

And do you think the FIS will let her do it?

 

If it's naked spring skiing, I'm all for it.

 

These kinds of things just don't have as much appeal in sports where the competitor is basically competing against a course and just comparing a score (or time) with males.

Pick a sport where you have to face your competitor and react to what he does, and then call me.

But then, we've seen that.

203rd-ranked Karsten Braasch, playing half speed, def. Serena Williams 6-1. And then Venus 6-2.

As a side note, after that match one of the sisters decided maybe it would be a better idea to challenge someone ranked in the 300s.

Braasch told her, "I'm going to lose a few ranking points in the next couple of weeks. I should be ranked in the 300s if you want to do it again."

 

This is all I know about skiing......

 

This. If her times measure up to the men then, sure, why not?

The whole "battle of the sexes" theme doesn't mean much in sports that have no head to head competition/defense from the opponent.

 

It's suicide!

 

That's interesting. I believe the opposite is true. I think competing for a time or a score gives a much better indication of how how close or how far apart men and women are in terms of ability -- and that's the real point of such a contest anyway, right?

I also think men and women competing for the fastest time or the best score is far less predictable and therefore, far more interesting than say a male/female boxing match or a male/female tennis game.

Anyone else?

 

It's less predictable because, well, Annika Sorenstam has a legitimate chance to ace a Par-3 hole because there's nothing Rory McIlroy can do to impede her.

OTOH, Serena Williams simply cannot hit four winners and get a game off Rafael Nadal, because Nadal's spin and speed will not let her.

Now, as far as interesting . . .

While a 6-0, 6-0 thrashing may not be very interesting, I think it's interesting that the casual fan can look at Serena Williams and Andy Murray win Wimbledon and actually think, "They're playing the same game."

 

That's a great point

 

Vonn's got nothing on Lane Meyer.