Parallel giant slalom is the lone Alpine snowboarding discipline on the Olympic program. It's similar to Alpine skiing's giant slalom event, but with a twist: This event uses a bracket format, and two athletes at a time race head-to-head on identical courses.

Read on to learn nearly everything there is to know about parallel giant slalom snowboarding, including the rules, schedule and competition format for Milan Cortina 2026.

What to know about other disciplines: Halfpipe | Slopestyle | Big Air | Snowboard Cross

What is the schedule for parallel giant slalom snowboarding at the 2026 Winter Olympics?

Men’s and women’s parallel giant slalom snowboarding will take place on Sunday, Feb. 8, which is Day 2 of the Milan Cortina Winter Games.

What are the quota limits for men’s and women’s parallel giant slalom snowboarding at the Olympics?

For Olympic qualification, there are 32 quota spots each for men and women.

What are the rules for parallel giant slalom snowboarding at the Olympics?

In parallel giant slalom, athletes compete head-to-head in a knockout bracket. Each race features two riders on side-by-side courses (hence the “parallel” part of the event name), with the rider who crosses the finish line first winning the race.

Each course is reminiscent of the giant slalom courses seen in Alpine skiing — there are a series of gates staggered throughout the course that athletes must maneuver around. Missing a gate results in a disqualification.

What is the competition format for parallel giant slalom snowboarding at the Olympics?

The Olympic format features a qualifying round and a series of head-to-head elimination rounds.

How does the qualifying round for Olympic parallel giant slalom snowboarding work?

In qualifying, competitors each take two runs — one on the red course and one on the blue course. Their two times are added together, and the athletes with the top 16 cumulative times advance to the elimination rounds.

Note that although the qualification round features two athletes taking runs side-by-side on the parallel courses, they actually are not racing each other.

How does the head-to-head format for Olympic parallel giant slalom snowboarding work?

For the elimination rounds, all 16 competitors are seeded according to their times and placed into a bracket. The eliminations consist of four parts: Round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals and medal finals.

Each head-to-head elimination race consists of just one run down the course. The racer with the better qualification time can choose either the red course or the blue course. Whoever crosses the finish line first on that one run advances to the next round.

The medal finals feature two races: a big final and a small final. The winner of the big final receives the gold medal, while the loser gets silver. The winner of the small final receives the bronze medal.

How are photo finishes decided in parallel giant slalom snowboarding?

If the time difference between the two racers is 0.00 seconds, then a photo finish decides the winner. In that case, the rider who crosses the finish line first with any part of their body is the winner.

How do athletes get disqualified in parallel giant slalom snowboarding?

Athletes can receive a disqualification for the following infractions:

• False start
• Disturbing their opponent during a run
• Passing through the wrong gate
• Failing to execute a turn on the outside of a gate
• Not finishing the run with at least one foot fixed to the board

What’s the difference between the two courses in parallel giant slalom snowboarding?

The red course and the blue course are designed to be as identical to one another as possible. However, this is an event where fractions of a second matter, and sometimes one course may offer a slight advantage for one reason or another. It’s not uncommon to see the higher-seeded racers all picking the same course during the knockout rounds if it seems to be running slightly faster.

What are the differences between parallel giant slalom and parallel slalom?

Parallel giant slalom and parallel slalom are the two Alpine snowboarding events on the World Cup program. The premise of the events is very similar, with the difference being how far apart the gates are spaced.

In parallel giant slalom, gates are spaced 20-25 meters (about 66-82 feet) apart. In parallel slalom, the gates are 10-14 meters (about 33-46 feet) apart, which creates a tighter course that favors even more technical riding.

Parallel giant slalom or giant slalom has been on the program at every Winter Olympics since snowboarding debuted in 1998. Parallel slalom only was contested at the Winter Olympics during Sochi 2014.

What are the differences between parallel giant slalom and snowboard cross?

There are two different racing events on the Olympic snowboarding program: parallel giant slalom and snowboard cross. While they might appear similar at first glance, they're in fact completely different from one another.

In parallel giant slalom, or any other Alpine snowboarding "parallel" discipline, two riders compete on side-by-side courses but never come into contact with one another. In snowboard cross, four (or sometimes six) athletes are racing on the same course and need to find ways to overtake the rider in front of them without causing a crash.

Parallel giant slalom is the more technical event, as riders must exhibit a high degree of control in order to maneuver around the gates. Snowboard cross courses also have gates, but they are easier to navigate. Instead, snowboard cross riders are focused on maintaining speed as they deal with various obstacles (such as jumps, rollers and berms) that aren't present in Alpine courses.

Because of the differences in the two events, the snowboards and boots used by the riders also are different.

Which countries have been most successful in Alpine snowboarding events at the Olympics?

Looking at all Alpine snowboarding events (including giant slalom and parallel slalom), Switzerland by far has been the most dominant nation with its five Olympic gold medals.

Although Austria only has one gold medal, it has more overall medals (9) than any other country, including Switzerland (8).