Mikaela Shiffrin’s Olympic Rollercoaster Continues
Sports can be brutal. One minute you’re on top of the world, shattering records like they’re cheap dinner plates, and the next, you’re standing at the bottom of an Olympic hill wondering where it all went sideways.
If you’ve been following Mikaela Shiffrin’s journey in Milan Cortina, you know exactly what I’m talking about. The greatest alpine skier of all time is currently riding a streak that feels less like a victory lap and more like a stubborn curse. After missing the podium in the giant slalom on Sunday and finishing fourth in the team combined on Tuesday, the medal drought has officially hit eight straight Olympic events.
A Heartbreaker In the Team Combined
Tuesday’s team combined event was supposed to be a redemption arc. The setup was promising: Breezy Johnson, fresh off a downhill gold that probably had eagle-eyed fans screaming at their TVs, laid down a solid run to give the Americans a lead.
Then it was Shiffrin’s turn. The team radio crackled with a simple message before she dropped in: “No tricks here at all. Actually, it’s nothing to report. You got it.”
And she did have it—until the clock said she didn’t. Shiffrin, usually a surgeon on slalom skis, just couldn’t find the rhythm. She bled time at every checkpoint. When she crossed the finish line, she wasn’t looking at gold. She was looking at fourth place, missing the podium by a heartbreaking 0.31 seconds. To add a little salt to the wound? She finished just 0.06 seconds behind the other American team of Paula Moltzan and Jacqueline Wiles, who snagged the bronze.
Skiing is a game of fractions. You blink, you catch an edge, you hesitate for a nanosecond, and suddenly you’re hugging your teammate in the finish area instead of standing on the box.
Speaking of hugs, that moment between Shiffrin and Johnson at the bottom wasn’t about disappointment. It was about respect. The Austrians (Ariane Raedler and Katharina Huber) were celebrating a surprise gold, but the cameras caught the real emotion in the U.S. camp.
The Giant Slalom Stumble
Rewind to Sunday, and the vibe was eerily similar. The giant slalom is Shiffrin’s bread and butter, but the mountain had other plans. She finished her second run in sixth place, watching the medal hopes evaporate in the Italian air.
It’s tough to watch someone who has won everything struggle to win this specific thing right now. Shiffrin has 108 World Cup victories. She has slalom records that might stand until we’re all watching the Olympics on Mars. But the Games? They’re fickle beasts.
We saw the cracks in the armor, too. Shiffrin, who usually keeps it cool, calm, and collected, got teary-eyed thinking about the coaches and the journey. That’s the human side we often forget when we’re obsessing over medal counts. These aren’t robots strapped to fiberglass; they’re people carrying the weight of a nation on their shoulders.
One Last Shot At Redemption
So, where does that leave us? Shiffrin has one bullet left in the chamber: the individual slalom on Wednesday. If there is any event where she can silence the noise and remind everyone why she’s on the Mount Rushmore of skiing, it’s this one.
Her teammates, Moltzan and Wiles, proved that the U.S. team is deep, grabbing their first Olympic medals in the team combined. That’s a massive win for the program. But all eyes remain fixed on #65.
Can she shake off the “drought” narrative? Can she find that perfect run that has eluded her for two straight Olympics? Or is this just how the cookie crumbles sometimes? Whatever happens on Wednesday, don’t change the channel. Because if sports have taught us anything, it’s that the comeback is always better than the winning streak. And Shiffrin is due.
