Mikaela Shiffrin and Breezy Johnson miss podium as Austria win dramatic women's team combined at Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics
Updated 10/02/2026 at 17:19 GMT
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There was a dramatic conclusion to Tuesday's women's combined event as firm favourites Breezy Johnson and Mikaela Shiffrin missed out on the podium. Austrian duo Katharina Huber and Ariane Raedler took gold with a pair of stunning performances and watched on nervously as Shiffrin was last to take to the slalom, seemingly poised for gold. Johnson had previously set the fastest downhill time.
Watch: 'What's just happened!' - HUGE shock as Shiffrin misses podium in combined
Video credit: TNT Sports
Team USA's Breezy Johnson and Mikaela Shiffrin missed out on the podium in a stunning conclusion to Tuesday's women's combined event at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.
Johnson had set the leading time of 1:36.59 on the downhill leg, with Shiffrin taking to the slalom last in the hope of bringing home gold.
However, she could only clock the 15th-fastest slalom run at 45.38, and it was Austria's Katharina Huber and Ariane Raedler who topped the podium, with Germany's Emma Aicher and Kira Weidle-Winkelmann in silver. USA's Jacqueline Wiles and Paula Moltzan took bronze, with Johnson and Shiffrin in fourth - six hundredths of a second behind their compatriots.
On its Winter Olympic debut, the combined event provided great drama across both the men's and women's races - with a similar outcome playing out on Monday as Italy stumbled when poised for gold in the men's competition.
Shiffrin, who is so accustomed to dealing with intense pressure, was not guilty of any notable mistakes in her slalom run, but TNT Sports expert Charlie Guest identified a reluctance from the American to showcase her dazzling best - which has earned her a reputation among the greatest skiers of all time.
"She didn't really put a foot wrong but there was a little bit of that spark missing," Guest said. "A bit of safety in there. It's the Olympics. That is why we love the Olympics."
Johnson gave USA the advantage with a stunning downhill run earlier in the day, akin to that which saw her storm to gold in the individual downhill event on Saturday.
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Breezy shares moment she thought about Shiffrin when skiing
Video credit: TNT Sports
The American duo were seen hugging at the bottom of the hill following Shiffrin's slalom run, as Huber and Raedler broke out in celebration following their unlikely victory.
"What have we just seen!" Ed Drake exclaimed on TNT Sports' commentary. "Mikaela Shiffrin has been defeated, having had the advantage. She apologises and commiserates with her team-mate but she shouldn't have to. It's just one run of ski racing.
"Who thought Paula Moltzan and Jacqueline Wiles would get the better of Shiffrin [and Johnson].
"Everybody had been handing them the medal, including us, every ski racing fan went, 'Well, Shiffrin's leading, there's absolutely no chance for anyone else.' This is live sport, this is the occasion that brings out the best and pressure does funny things.
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"She's won 108 times [in the World Cup], 71 of those in slalom. She's done everything and gets to the Olympic Games - I don't want to dramatise it - but it shows that she's human.
"Dealing with the pressure, 999 times out of 1000, Shiffrin wins. There is our upset, our first real surprise."
Shiffrin arrived in Milano Cortina hoping to right the shortcomings of her 2022 Beijing Games, when she failed to medal - coming closest with a fourth-placed finish in the mixed team parallel.
She is a two-time gold medal winner at the Winter Olympics, winning the slalom at Sochi 2014 and the giant slalom four years later in PyeongChang. She also won silver in South Korea in the women's Alpine combined.
Austria's victory saw Raedler claim her first-ever Olympic medal, while it was Huber's second gold, having won the mixed team parallel four years ago in Beijing.
On winning gold, Raedler said: "I don’t know what just happened, I was so nervous in the slalom, when Kathy started, my heart pumped.
"It is so cool with Kathy, she is a good friend for me and it is cool."
Huber added: "Yeah it was the morning that was really nervy for me when Ari had her run but I was also nervous when I was on the start [line].
"It was unbelievable but I was only thinking, you have to ski good, you have to ski good and yeah, I don’t know what is happening now!
"I don’t really know [how I did that], I saw in the finish first, tenth position and then first position - we didn’t really see the run from Mikaela [Shiffrin] because we were already celebrating the medal."
Watch every event of Milano Cortina 2026 live on discovery+. Available across all subscription plans, starting at £3.99.
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