Mikaela Shiffrin’s ongoing Olympic medal drought continued Tuesday at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, as the American superstar and teammate Breezy Johnson finished a agonizing fourth in the inaugural women’s team combined event—missing bronze by a razor-thin 0.06 seconds.
Austria’s Ariane Raedler (downhill) and Katharina Huber (slalom) claimed the historic gold with a combined time of 2:21.66. Germany’s Kira Weidle-Winkelmann and Emma Aicher took silver in 2:21.71, while fellow Americans Jacqueline Wiles and Paula Moltzan secured bronze in 2:21.91.
Shiffrin, the most successful alpine skier in World Cup history with a record 108 victories—including 71 in slalom—and already dominant this season, entered as a heavy favorite alongside reigning individual downhill gold medalist Johnson.
Johnson delivered in the morning downhill on the Olympia delle Tofane course, posting the fastest time of 1:36.59 and giving the duo a narrow lead of about 0.06 seconds over Raedler’s run. Fresh off her individual gold, Johnson skied aggressively despite pre-race concerns over course safety.
But Shiffrin, the slalom specialist who has won seven of eight World Cup slaloms this season and clinched the Crystal Globe early, faltered uncharacteristically in the afternoon leg. Starting last with the advantage, she skied tentatively, losing ground progressively and recording only the 15th-fastest slalom time out of 18 finishers at 45.38 seconds—a full second behind Germany’s Emma Aicher’s leading slalom run.
The result dropped the Johnson-Shiffrin pair to a combined 2:21.97, just 0.06 behind their U.S. teammates for bronze and 0.31 off the gold pace. It marked one of Shiffrin’s poorest slalom performances in years, with her finish position the worst since 2012.
“I didn’t quite find a comfort level that allows me to produce full speed,” Shiffrin said post-race. “I’ve been so prepared for all the slaloms this year. There’s something to learn from this day, and I’m going to learn it. I want to be careful not to make excuses.”
The near-miss extends Shiffrin’s frustrating Olympic record in recent years: after gold in slalom at Sochi 2014 and giant slalom gold plus combined silver at PyeongChang 2018, she endured a 0-for-6 medal-less Games in Beijing 2022 with multiple DNFs. Now, with individual giant slalom and slalom still ahead, the 30-year-old faces mounting pressure to rediscover her signature dominance on the Olympic stage.
Johnson, embracing her teammate at the finish, highlighted the team dynamic: “Breezy did her part perfectly,” but the slalom gap proved decisive.
For the U.S. team, the day brought mixed emotions—bronze for Wiles and Moltzan provided a highlight, but the favorites’ slip underscored the razor-thin margins and unpredictability of Olympic competition in this new event format.
