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Mikaela Shiffrin Made a Risky Decision For Her Team Ahead of Final Event at Beijing Winter Olympics 2022
Two-time Olympic gold medalist Mikaela Shiffrin will leave Beijing without a single medal. The icy slopes at the Beijing Winter Olympics were quite unkind to the American ski racer.
Not only did Shiffrin fail to medal in an individual event, but she also couldn’t secure a medal in the final team event. In fact, Shiffrin had insisted on staying in Beijing in order to compete alongside her USA team in the final event.
Even though Mikaela Shiffrin set a record of competing in six different Olympic events, she couldn’t medal in any of them. Moreover, by competing in the team event, Shiffrin stayed for longer in Beijing, ultimately disrupting her schedule ahead.
Mikaela Shiffrin disrupted her World Cup schedule to stay in Beijing
Mikaela Shiffrin did not medal in any individual event at the Beijing Winter Olympics 2022. In fact, in three of her solo events, she ended up with a DNF result after crashing or skiing out.
Moreover, these events were even her main events, the slalom, and the giant slalom. Nevertheless, Shiffrin decided to look on the bright side and stay confident. In that vein, she made the decision to compete in the team event as well, alongside her USA teammates.
Mikaela Shiffrin had said repeatedly she wanted to do the team event. So much so she changed her departure from Beijing. https://t.co/nFEYPoe9SL
— Nancy Armour (@nrarmour) February 19, 2022
However, the team event was on the final day of the Olympics, which meant that Shiffrin had to stay in Beijing for another three days. Thus, it meant she would end up disrupting her set schedule for the rest of the World Cup season.
Shiffrin should have left earlier to Europe in order to continue her World Cup season. Instead, she made a last-minute decision to stay in Beijing and compete at her country’s team event as well.
It could also have been a chance for Shiffrin to not leave Beijing empty-handed. Had team USA won against team Norway in their small final event, they would at least have been in the running for a podium finish.
Sadly, Norway came out on top, and team USA would indeed be leaving without a medal, including Mikaela Shiffrin.
Mikaela is grateful for her teammates
After Team USA failed to reach the podium in their small final combined team event, Mikaela Shiffrin ensured that her team knew how grateful she was for them.
2022 Beijing Olympics – Alpine Skiing – Mixed Team Parallel Small Final – National Alpine Skiing Centre, Yanqing district, Beijing, China- February 20, 2022. Mikaela Shiffrin of the United States and her teammate River Radamus of the United States hug after losing the Small Final. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
Despite finishing fourth in the standings and narrowly missing a medal, Team USA had some positives to look at. It was Mikaela Shiffrin who expressed her gratitude to her teammates.
“My teammates are what carried me through this Olympics.”@MikaelaShiffrin on the strength and perseverance of the @usskiteam.#WinterOlympics | #WatchWithUS pic.twitter.com/UiDhZ6nC4G
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) February 20, 2022
“These guys (competed) so strongly,” Shiffrin expressed. Moreover, she stated how watching her teammate River Radamus ski down inspired hope in the rest of the team.
Finally, Mikaela shared how the team event became her “absolute favorite memory,” thanking her teammates for the same.
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