BEIJING, China — Two-time Olympic gold medalist Mikaela Shiffrin calls her disqualification in the giant slalom at the Beijing Games “a huge disappointment.”
"It's hard not to dwell, especially for me, I'm always dwelling on these kind of heartbreaking days." Shiffrin said in an interview just after the race. "But I just cannot afford to spend or waste energy that's now in the past."
She arrived in China as one of the most-watched athletes in any sport at the Winter Olympics, a superstar who has dominated ski racing for long stretches in recent years.
Shiffrin has spoken openly about the pressure created by the weight of expectations — her own, of course, and those of fans, but also coaches, friends and family. She also is upfront about the burden of dealing with the accidental death of her father, Jeff, two years ago.
Shiffrin missed a gate five turns into the first leg of the two-run event that was the first Alpine skiing race of the 2022 Olympics.
It happened just seconds after she started her way down the course in an event she won at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.
It was the first time she failed to finish a giant slalom since just before those Olympics four years ago.
She arrived in China with plans to try to compete in all five individual Alpine events. Next up is the slalom on Wednesday.
> Watch: Mikaela Shiffrin's family reacts as she falls in Olympic giant slalom
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