YANQING (CHINA) – US ski star Mikaela Shiffrin’s bid for a third Olympic gold medal failed at the first hurdle as she dramatically slid out of the women’s giant slalom on Monday.
As defending champion, Shiffrin was among the favourites for the race at the Beijing Games, but lasted only a handful of gates before she slipped wide and was unable to regain her line.
It is a hammer blow for Shiffrin, who also won slalom gold at the 2014 Sochi Games, but the 26-year-old vowed to quickly refocus on Wednesday’s shorter technical event in which she is a four-time world champion.
“There’s a huge disappointment, not even counting medals,” she said. “The day was finished basically before it…
