Sitting in the snow, staring into space. The Beijing Olympics are turning into a nightmare for the American Mikaela Shiffrin. This Wednesday, she was eliminated after five gates of the first run of the slalomof which she was Olympic champion in 2014 and one of the two huge favorites. “I feel pretty bad, yes. But I’ll get over it even if it’s complicated now, she admits. I had intended to ski hard, I had chosen the most aggressive line, the most risky.”
This surprise elimination follows that of the giant on Monday, again in the first round. The last time she was out in two consecutive technical races, her specialty, dates back more than 10 years and December 2011. The skier from Colorado is coming out of two difficult years, marked by the accidental death of her father in February 2020, then repeated back problems. “Disgusted for Mikaela Shiffrin, but that doesn’t take away from her great career and what she can still achieve if she gets back on track. Keep your head up,” tweeted the other great American champion, Lindsey Vonn. The next race for Mikaela Shiffrin at the Olympics is the super-G, this Friday.