The winningest alpine skier in FIS World Cup history has one shot left at a 2026 Winter Games podium finish, as Team USA star Mikaela Shiffrin hunts her first Olympic medal in nine straight attempts in Wednesday's women's slalom final.
While Shiffrin entered this month's Olympics having won the event seven times across her most recent eight World Cup starts, the US standout has struggled so far in Cortina — four years after failing to medal at the 2022 Beijing Games.
After a 15th-place slalom run — notably amid difficult course conditions — pushed Shiffrin and teammate Breezy Johnson down to fourth in last week's team combined, the 30-year-old posted an 11th-place finish in Sunday's giant slalom, an event in which Shiffrin won gold at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics.
In a sport where split-second margins determine victory or defeat, Shiffrin preempted her critics by reframing the outcome of her Sunday race, saying "when I think about it, I'm [only] three tenths off of the podium."
"It's such a high level of competition," Shiffrin explained. "It is really, really cool that we as athletes were able to showcase that on this day."
How to watch Mikaela Shiffrin in the Olympic women's slalom
The USA ski star will cap the 2026 Winter Games with her best event, racing in the women's slalom on Wednesday.
Shiffrin will race for Olympic hardware beginning at 4 AM ET, live on USA Network.
