The best women’s ski racer in the world didn’t make it down the mountain for her second straight race, as Mikaela Shiffrin once again missed a gate in fell in the first run of the slalom at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
The same fate befell the two-time gold medalist in the giant slalom on Sunday, leaving her unable to even get to the start house for the second run in both events that require two heats. One of the greatest alpine athletes in history, Shiffrin has 73 world cup victories, only trailing Sweden Ingemar Stenmark amongst men and women, as well as 11 world championship medals.
But in the United States where skiing isn’t as popular as in Europe, her star power is often defined by what happens on NBC once every four years. She was a +135 choice at DraftKings Sportsbook to win the women’s slalom, the second choice on the board behind Petra Vlhova of Slovakia who was -110.
Shiffrin can still compete in the super giant slalom, the downhill, and the alpine combined (a combination of downhill and slalom).