Article by Roxana Fleşeru – Published Tuesday, February 10, 2026, 7:42 p.m. / Updated Tuesday, February 10, 2026, 7:53 p.m.
Mikaela Shiffrin (30), the skier with the most World Cup wins in history, took fourth place in the combined team event with Breezy Johnson.
Slalom specialist Mikaela Shiffrin looks ahead after an unexpected fourth-place finish in the women's team medley at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
This event requires two skiers from the same country to complete two separate legs, one downhill and one slalom. Their times are then combined to get the final result.
Breezy Johnson, Cortina–Milano 2026 downhill champion, finished the downhill in first place, but Mikaela Shiffrin finished the slalom in 15th place, and overall they finished the competition in fourth place.
That the two did not make the podium was a surprise as they won the world title in the event at the Alpine Skiing World Championships in February 2025 and were gold medal favorites at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Mikaela Shifftin, no beat
Shiffrin, a two-time Olympic champion, tried to explain what happened on the slopes. “It's hard to explain the feeling I get on long skis. I tried to reset each side and get more speed, but it wasn't going in the right direction, it was really tight. You have to give everything to win. I had a few mistakes, but in the end it's really exciting to be a part of it and it's really exciting to do it with Breezy,” said Mikaela.
Mikaela Shiffrin on the slopes PHOTO Imago Images
She continued: “It's a pleasure to be here and a pleasure to compete. I just have to keep going and I'm really excited for Jackie Wiles and Paula Moltzan.” Shiffrin said.
Wiles and Moltzan won the bronze medals in that event, a finish Shiffrin described as “so well-deserved.”
“These are the moments you live for. Not every athlete can have a spectacular moment every day. You'll win some, you won't be on the podium on others. But to be here and see your teammates on the podium … It's incredible to see Team USA win a medal,” the American said.
The gold was won by the Austrians Ariadne Rädler and Katharina Huber, and the silver by the Germans Kita Weidle-Winkelmann and Emma Aicher.
Last year, Shiffrin testified that a racing injury caused her to have “intrusive thoughts” and PTSD symptoms.
Shiffrin had an accident in November 2024 and had a five-centimeter-deep penetrating wound to her abdomen. “It was a more difficult physical and mental recovery process than I would have expected. I had a lot of real PTSD symptoms,” she said.
In an interview with People magazine in January, Shiffrin thanked her fiance, Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, himself an Olympic medalist skier, absent from this edition of the Olympics after not fully recovering from a terrible accident suffered in a World Cup stage, for helping her through the “tough times” before the Games.
“It's the ability to understand each other and help each other through difficult times. He does that for me every day. It's something special.”
