German downhill crashes hard
Shiffrin ‘doesn’t want to cry’ after shock
2/7/2022 6:41 am
Mikaela Shiffrin is the most successful female skier in the world. But at the Olympic Games, of all places, the American caught a bitter day: after just a few goals, she was eliminated. The German downhiller Dominik Schwaiger did not make it to the finish either – and injured himself.
For ski racer Mikaela Shiffrin, the Olympic Winter Games in China started with a heavy setback. The top favorite for the gold medal slipped away after only a few goals in the first round of the giant slalom and was eliminated completely surprisingly. The Swede Sara Hector took the lead after the first run. The only German starter, Emma Aicher, made it into the final in 30th place (7:30 a.m. CET). “I’m not going to cry now, it just wastes energy,” said Shiffrin, who won the giant slalom at the Pyeongchang Games four years ago. Of course, she feels “great disappointment,” said the American. But now she wants to focus on her next races.
The women’s slalom is already on Wednesday. This is Shiffrin’s parade discipline. There, too, the 73-time World Cup winner is one of the hunted. The slope in Yanqing is “really fun” and the conditions are “incredible,” said Shiffrin, who made no excuses for her early exit. When looking for the cause of her mistake, you can go back to the back problems she had after the season opener in Sölden. Or for the corona-related quarantine at the end of December, because of which she was again unable to train. Or just talk about fate: Shiffrin retired with start number 7 at the seventh gate of the course. 7 is the Chinese unlucky number.
But she doesn’t want that, says the 26-year-old. “It’s just like this: I made a few good turns and a little bit worse,” she emphasized. “And I paid the ultimate price for it.” In her previous five races at the Olympic Games, Shiffrin had always finished in the top 5. She won gold twice and silver once. In China she has decided to compete in all disciplines.
Feuz WINS, Schwaiger crashes hard
The Swiss ski racer Beat Feuz meanwhile won the gold medal in the downhill. The 34-year-old world champion from 2017 had a lead of 0.10 seconds over Frenchman Johan Clarey. Matthias Mayer from Austria took bronze (+0.16). Romed Baumann was the best DSV athlete in 13th place. He was followed by Andreas Sander in 17th place and Josef Ferstl in 23rd place. The next race for the men with the Super-G is already on Tuesday.
The race was overshadowed by a serious crash by German Dominik Schwaiger. The 30-year-old from Schönau slipped into a safety net and was later taken away in a rescue sled. “Forearm injury” was the first diagnosis. The other German starters did finish, but could not intervene in the fight for the medals.