Published February 6, 2023 09:31AM
Mikaela Shiffrin Disqualified in First Race of World Championships
The best all-around ski racer in the world was expected to take gold in Monday’s alpine combined race before skiing out of her slalom run.
COURCHEVEL MERIBEL, FRANCE - FEBRUARY 6: Mikaela Shiffrin of Team United States crashes out during the FIS Alpine World Cup Championships Women's Alpine Combined on February 6, 2023 in Courchevel Meribel, France. (Photo: Christophe Pallot/Agence Zoom/Getty Images)
Mikaela Shiffrin may be in the midst of another record-breaking season, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t still have bad days. In Monday’s opening race of the 2023 World Championships in Courchevel-Meribel, France, Shiffrin failed to finish the slalom portion of the alpine combined—a race the reigning alpine combined world champion was expected to win.
Shiffrin was sitting in sixth place after the super-G component of today’s alpine combined, 0.96 seconds out from the leading pace set by Italy’s Federica Brignone. Then in the slalom—her speciality discipline—Shiffrin was posting the fastest split times before she straddled the third-to-last gate, causing her to ski out of the course and be disqualified.
Watch: Highlights from the women’s alpine combined World Championship race
The shocking moment harkened back to the Beijing Olympics, when Shiffrin skied out of both her giant slalom and slalom races. It’s even more surprising given the record-breaking run Shiffrin is currently on. She’s won 11 World Cup races this season, finished first or on the podium of her last four races, and just two weeks ago surpassed Lindsey Vonn’s win record to become the best female ski racer of all time.
“It doesn’t happen very often,” Shiffrin admitted after the race. “I felt like I was skiing really well. I had a really good run.”
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Shiffrin knew that to overcome Brignone’s lead from the super-G, she’d have to ski “full, full gas.”
“So I was doing that, take the risk that you don’t finish,” Shiffrin continued. “This is what you have to do if you want to earn a medal at the world championships. On the end, it was like letting it go to the finish just one gate too soon and then you’re out.”
“It’s always quite positive how I was skiing,” said Shiffrin. “I have some work to do to figure out where I can make up some time in the super-G. It’s so much fun to ski this hill so I’m looking forward to it.”
