US ski queen suffers more misfortune
Mikaela Shiffrin, considered by many to be among the United States' brightest hopes for an individual medal in Beijing, could be heading home empty-handed after she continued her series of unimpressive showings on the slopes by failing to make the podium on the slalom portion of the Alpine combined race.
Shiffrin had previously branded her performances in Beijing as a “failure" but hopes were high that she could reverse her fortunes with a strong finish after starting the day in fifth position – but the 26-year-old two-time Olympic gold medalist crashed out soon after she began her run to record what is her third 'Did Not Finish' of the Winter Games.
“Oh, man, I don't know if anybody has failed that hard with so many opportunities maybe in the history of the Olympics," Shiffrin, who was in tears after her elimination, said to NBC afterwards.
“But I'll take it. I mean, it is a joke. That's fine. I just really selfishly wanted to have a good run of slalom down this hill, and I'll be left wanting there."
This latest dismal performance caps what has been a disappointing Olympics for an athlete considered to be among the finest skiers of her generation.
Shiffrin, who arrived in Beijing with three Olympic medals to her name, was chasing the record set by the iconic Julia Mancuso but couldn't muster a performance which would have tied the record for the most medals in Alpine skiing by an American woman.
One more gold, meanwhile, would have put Shiffrin in a category of one for the most by any skier from the United States.
Her displays in Beijing immediately began on the wrong foot when she recorded her first DNF in the giant slalom just 11 seconds into the race. The poor start continued a couple of days later in the slalom when the gold medal favorite recorded another DNF – this time after just five seconds.
She also underperformed in the super-G and downhill events before setting herself up for a medal with a promising showing to record the fifth-fastest time ahead of Thursday's slalom event.
Low confidence, though, was an issue. “I'm not feeling totally confident with the slalom," Shiffrin told the media. “I mean, I have a recurring image of myself skiing out on the fifth gate again, so I'm just going to do my best.
“I had some really great Super-G some of the best skiing I've ever done here in Beijing, in the training, in the downhill over the last week, in my slalom, even today," she added.
“In the race, in the moment, when it counts, then I didn't make it to the finish, and that's never happened in my entire career, so I don't understand it. But there was so much positive that's happened in the last couple weeks despite how much it really stinks.
“I don't know, sometimes you just have to take it, I guess. Try to fix it the next time. I don't know what I'm supposed to fix. That's the frustrating thing. I don't think there's something to fix. It just went really, really wrong."
Shiffrin has one final opportunity to claim a medal as part of the United States team in the mixed team parallel slalom competition on Saturday.
