Shiffrin falls in Giant Slalom, delaying quest for Olympic history

Shiffrin falls in Giant Slalom, delaying quest for Olympic history
FRANCOIS-XAVIER MARIT/AFP via Getty Images

(BEIJING) — U.S. Olympic alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin’s quest to make Olympic history will have to wait for another day after she didn’t land a medal in the Giant Slalom competition Monday.

The 26-year-old fell during her first run, disqualifying her from the event.

“Could blame it on a lot of things…and we’ll analyze it till the cows come home, but not today,” Shiffrin said on Instagram. “Today I chalk it up to really awful timing of a really frustrating mistake. Moving focus to slalom now, AND cheering for my teammates in the second run of the GS and the DH!”

Sweden’s Sara Hector took the gold with a time of 1:55:68, followed by Italy’s Federica Brignone with a time of 1:55.97 and Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami with a time of 1:56:41.

Shiffrin is one medal away from tying the record for most Olympic medals by a female American Alpine skier, four. She is two gold medals away from holding the record for most golds ever by a female Alpine skier, also four.

Shiffrin aims to have many chances to attempt those feats during the games as she plans on competing in four other Alpine events over the next two weeks.

She is expected to compete in the Slalom on Wednesday, the Super-G on Thursday, the Downhill on Valentine’s Day and the Combined on Feb. 17.

Shiffrin, a Colorado native, has been competing since she was 16, and quickly became one of the sport’s all-time greatest skiers with her record-setting performances. She is the most decorated Alpine skier in the world circuit having won 11 World Championship medals, six gold.

At 18 years old she became the youngest Slalom champion when she won a gold medal in the 2014 Sochi games. Shiffrin won a gold medal in the Giant Slalom competition and a silver medal in the Combined competition during the 2018 Pyeongchang games.

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