Team USA's star ski duo came up short in the first-ever Olympic women's team combined on Tuesday morning, as Breezy Johnson and Mikaela Shiffrin fell 0.06 seconds off the podium with a fourth-place finish.
Coincidentally, Johnson initially gave Shiffrin an exact 0.06-second edge by winning the two-event competition's downhill opener to put the favored US pair squarely into medal contention — but Shiffrin's 15th-place slalom run failed to finish the job.
Notably, Shiffrin was one of only 18 slalom skiers able to complete the course on Tuesday morning, as difficult conditions saw the other eight unable to even finish their team combined runs.
Despite Johnson and Shiffrin's performance, Team USA still found its way onto the event's debut podium, as second-team skiers Jacqueline Wiles and Paula Moltzan took bronze behind Austria's gold medalists Ariane Raedler and Katharina Huber and German silver medalists Kira Weidle-Winkelmann and Emma Aicher.
Wiles, who missed Sunday's downhill podium by just 0.27 seconds, not only joined Moltzan in earning a first-ever Olympic medal on Tuesday morning, the 33-year-old also surpassed US legend Lindsey Vonn by becoming the oldest woman alpine skier to ever medal at the Olympics.
Tuesday's loss aside, Johnson's breakout run continues after the 30-year-old secured downhill gold on Sunday, while Shiffrin — the world's most decorated alpine skier — is still seeking her first Olympic medal since the 2018 PyeongChang Games.
How to watch Breezy Johnson, Mikaela Shiffrin at the Winter Olympics
Women's alpine action returns with the Super-G race on Thursday, with Johnson back on the slopes when the event starts at 5:30 AM ET on USA Network.
Shiffrin's Olympic run continues with Sunday's giant slalom race, which begins initial runs at 4 AM ET on USA Network before NBC broadcasts the medal round live at 7:30 AM ET.
