Mikaela Shiffrin’s quest for more Olympic medals, and possibly U.S. history, will begin on defense.
The dominant American slalom skier, who will attempt to compete in all five alpine skiing events at the Beijing Winter Olympics, will get started on Monday when she tries to defend her gold medal in the giant slalom.
Shiffrin, 26, who won gold in the giant slalom four years ago in Pyeongchang, South Korea, knows she has a challenging course and gusty winds to face this time around, in addition to rival Petra Vlhova of Slovakia. “There’s going to be a huge element of just crossing your fingers in these Games,” Shiffrin told reporters after testing out the slopes in Yanqing on Friday, per Reuters. “It’s some of the steepest terrain I’ve ever experienced in my life.
“Ideally nobody is going to face one of the really big gusts when you nearly get blown off the mountain. Skiing speed when you’re getting air off terrain … that becomes not only challenging but also very dangerous.”The giant slalom, which will feature two runs is the first event on Shiffrin’s busy schedule at these Olympics. She is also expected to race in the slalom on Wednesday, the Super G on Friday, the downhill on Feb. 15 and the combined on Feb. 17.
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