Mikaela Shiffrin: 'It feels pretty incredible' - US star delighted with super-G finish after slalom troubles

ByAlex Livie

Updated 11/02/2022 at 11:55 GMT

Mikaela Shiffrin has struggled at the Winter Olympics but after two did not finishes in the slalom and giant slalom, she remained upright to finish ninth behind gold medal winner Lara Gut-Behrami in the women's super-G. The American is taking the positives from her run and feels she is back on track after suffering such big disappointment on two of her favourite events.

Mikaela Shiffrin is taking the positives from her ninth-placed finish in the women’s super-G at the Beijing Olympic Games.

There were doubts as to whether Shiffrin would be at the starting gate after two DNFs in the slalom and giant slalom.

She finished 0.79 seconds behind winner Lara Gut-Behrami, but the American felt she started to line up on her skis again and is looking forward to the remainder of the Games with a positive mindset.

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"It feels pretty incredible to get past the fourth or fifth gate on the hill," Shiffrin said on discovery+. "I also wasn't skiing to finish, I was pushing, and I was skiing good turns, strong turns.

"It's where I should be, even a little bit better with no practice in the event, but I had a very good inspection, I think the right mentality, and the right intention.

"I really wasn't sure about that, because so far the last couple of weeks... it's not been going how I expected, and I'm not even talking about results, I'm talking about the feeling that I had on my skis, it was just different than I thought it might be.

"Today it started to line up again, and that's a big relief actually."

‘So cruel!’ – Crucial error costs Shiffrin after ‘near perfect’ run

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Shiffrin said after her second DNF that she may not race again in Beijing, but the support from around the world improved her mindset.

"I don't feel like I deserve it. It's been insane how many people have reached out and just trying to cheer me up," the American said on NBC.

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"I would never have expected to feel in this moment, severely under-performing in an Olympics, that humans could be so kind. It's the most surprising thing of my Olympic experience, how kind people have been in the face of my failure. I mean, it is failure - it's okay to say that. I'm okay with that. And I'm sorry for it, but I also was trying, and I'm proud of that.

"I think today I proved to myself that I can still trust my instincts a bit, and that's really, really huge."

Shiffrin still has the downhill, Alpine combined and team event to come - should she elect to race.

‘Just perfect!’ - Gut-Behrami lays down ‘stunning run’ to claim super-G gold

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Watch every moment of Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 on discovery+

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