Olympic Skiier Mikaela Shiffrin Crashes Out For Second Time In Three Days

Just two days after crashing out of her first run in Monday’s giant slalom, American Mikaela Shiffrin failed to make it past five gates in Wednesday’s slalom after, skiing off-line just seconds into her run.

“It feels like a really big let-down,” she said. “I was trying to look back and think about the last days and what I’ve been trying to do, what I’ve been doing with my skiing that would suggest that on the fifth gate I would push myself a little bit too hard to actually be able to stay in the course.

“[But] my skiing has been really solid. My entire career has taught me to trust in my skiing if it’s good skiing, and that’s all that I have to rely on these race days.

“And when the pressure is high—and of course the pressure is high, but that didn’t feel like the biggest issue today—and there are some nerves and the feeling that I want to do well, I always just go back to that fundamental idea that good skiing will be there for me.

“It’s not the end of the world and it’s so stupid to care this much, but I feel I have to question a lot now.”

‘It’s A Let-Down Of Everything’

Shiffrin came into the Olympics with aspirations of making history as the first U.S. alpine skier to win three medals at a single Winter Olympics—hopes which are now all but over.

The 26-year-old defending Olympic giant slalom champion and 2014 Olympic slalom champ had recorded just two DNFs in the last four years prior to Beijing 2022; she now has two in three days.

“It’s a let-down of everything, letting down myself, letting down other people,” she said. “I think there were some people that expected I might win, maybe hoped I might win.

“I know that for the people working closest to me, we were all crossing our fingers and also doing all of the work I could possibly do to give myself the best chance. It’s a let-down for them, we came all this way.

“We are not done yet but GS and slalom, those were my biggest focuses. It really feels like a lot of work for nothing. They will try to say: ‘This happens and it’s OK, and don’t be too hard on yourself,’ but it is a lot of work for a grand total of five gates in the GS and five gates in the slalom. That’s not lost on me.”

‘I Don’t Know How To Handle It’

Shiffrin had mentioned before the games that she intended to ski in all five solo alpine skiing events, with downhill, super-G and alpine combined still left to go. That may not be the case now, though.

“I will try to reset again, maybe try to reset better this time but I also don’t know how to do better because I just don’t,” she said. “I have never been in this position before and I don’t know how to handle it.

“The hill and the ski track looks pretty incredible and I think it will be a pleasure to ski, but I also have some teammates who are really fast and we have the athletes who can fill the spaces, so if I am going to ski out on the fifth gate, what’s the point?”