The American skier, triple victor of the World Cup, did not get any individual medal at the Olympics. Far, far from the goal she had set itself.
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An endless nightmare. Mikaela Shiffrin goes from disillusionment to Yanqing, on the tracks of the Beijing Olympics. After completing a very good fifth downhill, the American has been eliminated Thursday, February 17 at the slalom handle of the Alpine handset, which she was the Olympic Vice-Champion in title, after “walking down” shortly after departure. The Colorado skier will not win any individual medal during these Olympics, which had been challenged to climb the podium at each event in the Olympic program.
The descent into hell started on February 7 at the giant slalom. On the Ice River, the Yanqing Trail, Mikaela Shiffrin had lost his title obtained four years ago in Pyeongchang (South Korea) from the fifth door. “It’s a huge disappointment, the day ends before you started. I’m not going to void on my fate, it would be wasting energy,” she was trying to console himself. The American wanted, she said, “refocus on the rest”.
Two days later, even goes out during the slalom. Olympic champion of the discipline in Sochi (2014), she leaves after five doors. Evil is deeper. “I feel bad enough, yes. But I’m going back even if it’s complicated now,” had entrusted the skier to the 73 victories – including 47 in slalom, absolute record in the same discipline, men and women confused – In World Cup.
Fight for the big globe
Its e and 18 e places in super-G and down the 11th and 15th of February allowed to glimpse what seemed so inevitable: a zero pointing to the games for One of the best skiers of all time, like the French Alexis Pinturault in men, other Bredille favorite in Yanqing. One and the other have one last opportunity to “save” their games of the Screen, Saturday, February 19, during the mixed parallel event by teams.
Mikaela Shiffrin will quickly have to evacuate his Chinese stay if she does not want to lose everything this winter. First in the general classification of the World Cup, the American only has 17 points ahead of the Slovak Petra Vhlova who, she, went from Yanqing with the Gold Medal of the Slalom in the pocket.
Three Big Globes (2017, 2018, 2019), regularity prodigy so far, Shiffrin can hope to take a little off on his biggest rival from the end of February with two descents in Crans-Montana, Switzerland , and find the effectiveness of his ski before the finals of the season 2021-2022, from March 14 to 20, in Courchevel-Méribel (Savoie). She has very good souvenirs in Savoie, she signed during her career seven of her successes.