Mikaela Shiffrin vows to 'keep moving forward' after medal miss in women's team combined with Breezy Johnson - 'I didn't quite nail it'
Updated 10/02/2026 at 22:28 GMT
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Mikaela Shiffrin said she was going to learn from her disappointing slalom performance which resulted in a fourth-place finish for her and partner Breezy Johnson in the women’s team combined event at Milano Cortina 2026. Johnson went down fastest in the downhill event to put the pair in a great position to win gold, but Shiffrin could only finish 15th which saw the pair fall out of the medals.
Watch: 'What's just happened!' - HUGE shock as Shiffrin misses podium in combined
Video credit: TNT Sports
Mikaela Shiffrin said she was determined to "move forward" after her below-par slalom performance resulted in a fourth-place finish for her and partner Breezy Johnson in the women’s team combined event at Milano Cortina 2026, live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
Johnson delivered a stellar performance in the downhill to leave Shiffrin in an excellent position to end her medal drought at the Winter Olympics, after she unexpectedly failed to pick up a medal in Beijing four years ago.
The pair were the strong favourites to win gold, having done so in the inaugural World Championships in 2025.
But Shiffrin, who came into Cortina off the back of seven wins from eight slaloms this World Cup season, could only deliver the 15th-fastest time, which saw her and Johnson drop out of the medal placings.
Austrian duo Ariane Raedler and Katharina Huber took gold, with Germans Kira Weidle-Winkelmann and Emma Aicher finishing second.
There was some success in the event for the USA, as their second pair of Jacqueline Wiles and Paula Moltzan took bronze, finishing 0.06s ahead of their compatriots.
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Ariane Raedler and Katharina Huber took gold in the combined team event.
Image credit: Getty Images
Shiffrin made it clear she did not want to give excuses for her costly performance, but said: "I didn’t quite nail it, I didn’t quite find a comfort level that allows me to produce full speed.
"I want to be careful not to make excuses, because it's not really an excuse.
"It's just that the work we've done, I've been so prepared for so much, for all the slaloms this year.
"So there's something to learn from this day, and I'm going to learn it - I think we always do better with more information, and I got a lot of information today,"
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Nobody has more World Cup wins than Shiffrin’s 108, and she also has two Olympic gold medals to her name in the slalom and giant slalom from Sochi and Pyeongchang.
She therefore, comes into every race with huge expectations and after significant disappointment in Beijing four years ago, where she failed to finish in either the slalom or the giant slalom after taking on more events, this was a tough start to the Milano Cortina Games for the 30-year-old.
Shiffrin though, insisted she was just delighted to be part of the games and praised Wiles and Moltzan for finishing third.
She said: "It's a pleasure to be here and a pleasure to be racing. Just got to keep moving forward, and I'm so excited for Jackie [Wiles] and Paula [Moltzan].
"These are the moments you live for. Not every single athlete can have a spectacular moment every single day.
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Mikaela Shiffrin could not back up Breezy Johnson's excellent downhill run.
Image credit: Getty Images
"You’re going to win some, you're not going to be on the podium for some.
"But to be here and see our teammates on the podium - it's incredible to see Team USA winning a medal."
Shiffrin also heaped praise on Johnson, who again showed her credentials after winning gold in the individual downhill.
"I clearly have to do a little bit of work there in the next days before the next events, but it was so incredible to watch Breezy this morning," Shiffrin added.
"Watching her race downhill after winning the gold two days ago and all the crazy media and everything and answering the interviews and then to go out and do a beautiful run like that today, it was everything to watch, it was so inspiring.
"I wanted to do justice to that, and it didn’t quite measure up, but I’m really grateful for the experience to be part of it and to be able to learn from it for the coming races."
Shiffrin and Johnson later wrote in a collaborative Instagram post: "You either win or you learn. That's what we did out there today. I think Team Combined is a crazy and fun new event. It's also an event that is extremely difficult for ways that we as ski racers aren't used to. I know I learned a lot and I think Mik did too.
"It's hard to bring your best every day in new and different conditions and course sets. And fourth place at the Olympics is always tough. But I know that we are both champions.
"And that isn't because we both already have gold medals but because we try every day to be better, better skiers and better people. So we are going to hold our chins high, because going out there, giving it everything, when the sport is so challenging…that is how we win, and we are both going to go do more of that."
Watch every event of Milano Cortina 2026 live on discovery+. Available across all subscription plans, starting at £3.99.
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