YANQING, China — Mikaela Shiffrin’s final chance at an individual medal at the Beijing Olympics comes Thursday in the women’s Alpine combined — one run of downhill in the morning followed by one run of slalom in the afternoon.
Shiffrin, 26, won silver in the combined four years ago in PyeongChang. But her Olympics to this point have been defined by the disappointments of skiing out early in the first run of both the giant slalom and the slalom — two disciplines in which she has gold medals in previous Olympics.
“It’s just important to be able to compartmentalize the downhill run — fully focused on the downhill run — and then start the slalom portion of the day as if it’s a new day, and that’s really hard to do. Combined days are long, and the events could not be more opposite. It’s like doing two different sports in one single day. That’s the biggest challenge.”
Before the Olympics, Shiffrin — perhaps the most versatile active skier in the world — would have been considered a near-lock for a medal in the combined. But her mishaps in her signature events leaves everything in doubt. Slovakia’s Petra Vlhova, who may have been one of her greatest challengers in the combined, left China earlier this week with an injury. But Michelle Gisin and Wendy Hoeldener of Switzerland — who won gold and bronze, respectively, in 2018 — should be in the field.
“Nothing’s guaranteed, and that’s the No. 1 lesson that I think many people learn at the Olympic Games, that there is no guarantee for anything,” said Shiffrin, who finished 17th in Tuesday’s downhill. “Not for performance or results.”
In downhill training Wednesday, Shiffrin posted the fastest time in the field, with Holdener second — .93 seconds back — and Gisin fourth.
Shiffrin is also planning on competing in Saturday’s mixed-gender team event, joining teammates Paula Moltzan, River Radamus and Tommy Ford.