Congratulations to Hansdotter on an excellent race!
1
It didn't matter that others had the same compressed schedule - as the one who finished first Thursday, she pushed herself harder than others, had a medal ceremony, vomited- had to be completely exhausted but still skied a world class race against world class competitors.
She won multiple medals and the fact that she didn't live up to every prediction is completely ridiculous-she is an unbelievably talented athlete and the rest of these armchair commenters really just need to stuff it.
2
Congrats to Hansdotter! Well deserved.
1
While I am rooting for her, it appears that her PR machine has a lot of work ahead of it.
1
No excuses from Mikaela's mom please. There are some specialists who only ski slalom or giant slalom. That's mostly a decision made by the national team. But most skiers who do one also compete in the other, this isn't like mixing slalom with downhill. The other skiers all had the same compressed schedule.
What bears mentioning is that the gates are set by coaches according to a lottery system. This time the fateful task was done by Hansdotter's coach. Mikaela has dominated slalom skiing like no other racer in recent memory on plenty of courses set by the Austrians, Italians, Germans, etc. But that surely helped propel Hansdotter to the gold medal. Without that fortunate assist Mikaela is probably on the podium. One would have to analyze the gate setup with the aid of computers but I'm almost certain the winner's coach also set the course up in the way that would most likely neutralize Shiffrin's strengths. He surely knew that 0.4 seconds isn't that large of a margin for her to overcome, knowing that Mikaela has won multiple races by unheard of margins. Not hundreds or tenths of a second, or even a full second. She's won many of her races by unprecedented gaps of two or even three seconds separating her from the second place finisher.
22 years old, two Olympic golds, several crystal globes in the slalom, and one overall World Cup title with another likely this year. That's better than damn good. Maybe the media should leave her alone before she races.
5
When you are competing against the best in the world in anything the difference between winning and loosing is less than extremely small. A gust of wind could be the difference between 1st and 4th. We should be grateful that we have such a wonderful young woman as Ms Shiffrin representing our country. She is a true role model for our kids. Go Mikeala!!!
4
I've been watching the Olympics on TV since at least the early 70's. Boy, has it changed! The coverage is all about "style/hype/personality", and the athletes appear to have become so pressured that they are total emotional messes, in many cases.
It is no longer good enough to just excel at a sport. First of all, it should be an "extreme sport", not the usual, traditional stuff that has been being done for decades. It needs to be more "exciting" for the fickle TV audience, sitting on their fat duffs, stuffing dip and chip into their mouths. It needs to involve moves that challenge the ability of nearly all human bodies.
And what is the result? It's horrible attacks of nerves and poor performances. It's performances with ZERO joy - just the joy of a medal or media attention. Rarely, does it look as if the athlete just plain LOVES what he/she is doing - that this is what they live to do.
We have ended up with injured (in some cases, horrifically injured) athletes who are mental health basket cases. It's just not fun to watch anymore.
3
Congratulations Ms. Shiffrin. You have already accomplished the unobtainable dream of millions of people around the world: you've competed in an Olympics. (Not mention you've already won some jewelry, too!)
3
Aw, here in Colorado we still celebrate Mikaela; hey, she got into the Olympics and got fourth place! That is no shabby accomplishment.
You're going to have your off days. When I competed in high school in my first states relay race, I ran over the line and lost it for my team. That was pretty devastating.
I got medals after that loss, but Shiffrin has tons more than I have got, so she can still be proud of herself.
2
And a big thanks to NBC's 'wonderful' coverage of the race. While other racers were competing, NBC had its cameras trained on Ms. Shiffrin, waiting around for her turn. Maybe they were hoping to catch her vomiting again.
3
I always become exasperated when the sports announcers lament an athlete has to "settle" for a silver or bronze medal. Every athlete is under tremendous self-induced and media pressure. Just like we mere mortals, even some sure winners have something unexpected happen and don't (gasp!) win.
Does that make them failures? Maybe only for NBC.
8
Done, done, done with the media hype over the Corporate Games. Get rid of the flags and the omnipresent medal count, celebrate the athletic achievements and jettison the carefully crafted brands, both product and personal.
20
Shiffrin does not train just for the Olympics. She’s a fierce competitor on the World Cup circuit and has dominated slalom competitions and won down hill and giant slalom races. She’s frank about her aspirations, who wouldn’t want to take five golds in her discipline? She absolutely has the potential and likely will compete in Olympics to come. And has more races this year. For people who follow ski racing she has arrived on the heels of US skiers like Ted Liggety and Lindsey Vonn both of whom likewise have the potential to medal. Shiffrin is a ski phenom. As others have been that’s what record books demonstrate. Her record supports that claim. I think that the scrambling of the race schedule has affected her, the mental focus it takes to do what she aspires to is amazing. It’s also amazing what people who clearly know nothing of the sport will say.
11
She won a gold medal. Expecting to pile them up gets disgusting. Celebrate what you have.
8
She did not fail! She deserves nothing by respect for her determination and grit. I was astounded after I read about her workout in the New Yorker article; the author should try one of her easy days, and then speak of failing. But most importantly, she stands out for her respect to the sport she has chosen - she continues to ski in perfect form even after she crosses the finish line. Whatever her results might turn out this February, she is a remarkable sportswoman who undeniably left a mark that will last much loner then her life time.
9
Maybe the media should stop anointing winners and stop the ridiculous pressure on these athletes. This is not what Olympics is about.
35
What an amazing athlete! They all are. And such great attitude to match. She did not try to find excuses (bad wind, too cold, I am sick) for her unexpected performance but looked within herself to see what went on. She is GOLD all around.
29
She is indeed. I was proud of the way she was gracious in defeat, congratulating the girls who won. Ms. Shiffrin set a fine example for all the young girls who look to her as a role model. That's how a real champions handles themselves. We are fortunate to have this fine young woman representing us.
6
This young woman has made it to the Olympics. She has won a gold medal. So she just missed out on a medal in one event. Perhaps not now, but someday I hope she realizes how trivial that is in comparison with what she has accomplished and what her sport has given her.
9
It is a shame that the Giant Slalom and Slalom events were rescheduled due to the wind and weather. I imagine that for someone like Shiffrin, who by all accounts is a meticulous planner and has incredible attention to detail, the change in schedule caused some anxiety--and understandably so. As originally scheduled, she would have skied the Slalom event first and then had a day off before the Giant Slalom. It is quite an unfortunate break, but hopefully she's able to regroup and have strong performances in the Downhill and Alpine Combined. We will be pulling for her!
15
On the World Cup circuit these women compete in Slalom and Giant Slalom back to back EVERY weekend. More than half of the that raced the Slalom today raced the Giant Slalom yesterday, including all medalists. I just don't see how this could possibly have affected anyone of them.
3
This woman gave it her all and has a magnificent record, yet she is set upon after she barely missed a medal. She deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.
37
Completely agree. And that she has the confidence to say she didn't have it that day - despite vomiting before her race but clearly stating she wasn't sick. Admitting that she had nerves. Very human and very honest.
5
Shiffrin has done a great job aided by her family shrugging off all the hype. But unfortunately she is not super-human and the media machine creates huge baggage. Bodie Miller went crazy in Turin when he was suppose to win it all but he didn't have the support system Shffrin does.
With social media, 24/7 news and particularly American media, it tries to create super heroes and the hype baggage thrust upon the athlete gets heavier and heavier. As she makes more money with sponsorships, the sponsor expectations come into play as well.
She is lucky though, she has family around her to help her wade through the weight of celebrity. She won a gold medal and has won other gold medals, while other athletes have won none and didn't even finish their run. She is getting paid to play a sport she loves, she is a very lucky person!
The wins of people like Shaun White seem even bigger with all the pressure he faced. When it comes down to it, you win some, you lose some.
15
When the thirty two year old Swedish skier Frida Hansdotter was interviewed after her win , she said how much fun it was to be a down hill skier and how she loved the sport. With Schiffren it was about collecting as many medals as she can. She can't be having much fun when she gets so nervous that she throws up before a race. As the 35 year old Askal Lund Svindal said winning the downhill is wonderful but It is still only a sport
22
It is truly unfortunate that the media hype machine sets someone up to win 5 gold medals and when that person falls fractions of a second short of medaling (a silver or bronze is somehow unacceptable!) that this is somehow viewed as a failure. This mentality is NOT what the spirit of the Olympics is about.
60
I don't think we can blame the media entirely. To be fair, Shiffrin did initially say that she wanted to win five gold medals in these games. She walked that statement back a bit (three golds) as the Games approached, but it's not as if the media created the story line. Secondly, I don't think anyone is viewing her 4th place finish in the Slalom event as a complete failure--at least they shouldn't. Conditions were very tough, and the reschedule was unexpected. I think (and hope) that more people are simply disappointed for her, as I'm sure she is for herself. It's definitely not a failure by any stretch.
2
Yes it was a disappointment for Mikaela and her fans, but the beauty and excitement of sports is you never know the outcome in advance. Nothing is certain and that's why they run the races. My beloved Patriots did not win the Super Bowl this year. Disappointing yes, but that's why they actually play the game. You must earn the medal or the trophy and sometimes it just doesn't happen for expected winners.
8
How disappointed can you really be when your team wins and wins, and then loses? She already won a gold medal. Should be adequate. Rejoice in others' success.
4
Let's not make too much of this...do you know just how much of an in terval o.48 seconds is? If this had been a horse race, it would be a photo finish. And the winner is a great skier, too.
6
From what I have read, a 0.48 spread is not necessarily a photo-finish in alpine skiing. If you look at the results from top to bottom, a half-second is a comfortable margin and indicates that the skier had at least one glitch in the run.
1
The answer to your question: in a horse race, 0.48 second would be 30 feet.
2
I have the greatest respect for any athlete that trains unimaginably hard for 4 years and then in one evening has to pull everything together. Sometimes it works. Thats part of what makes the Olympics so fun as a spectator.
5
Were there any other Americans in this race?
Fact: The answer is yes - and the next-best-US-Skier is NOT in the US Ski Team!!! WHY???
Call USST HQ in Park City, UT and demand to know where your donations go.
Ok it's not USST HQ it is...US Ski and Snowboarding.
Current CEO is Tiger Shaw whose tag-line is "Americans only care about ski racing every 4 years when the Olympics come around."
Former CEO Bill Marolt's tag line was "So long and thanks for the money."
1
John - If your daughter is who I think it is, I know you are intimately knowledgeable about USST policies. The 2nd best (by points) in the race was Resi and she is USST. As you point out, Megan McJames isn't currently USST. And then there was Alice who was added to the Olympic roster late due to injury. You could also point out that there are a lot of American women who have better SL points than Alice who aren't on the USST and aren't at the Olympics. I've always thought that the team's eligibility criteria were unfair since I heard about Warner Nickerson's plight of being ranked 31st in the world in GS and yet he was "too old" to be on the USST. I share you frustration that the selection criteria and the support model for US skiers needs to be rethought. I have seen some initiatives to provide more support at the regional and club level but much more needs to be done by USSS.
I meant second best US finisher...and she was in both SL and GS. Megan has gotten a rotten deal for a long time. More power to her. Sorry for my rants and I know I should bite my tongue more but there are so many similar stories over time in the US. I am mostly hoping to bring light to the sport and get things going in a better direction. Many of these kids try so hard for so long and don't get treated fairly. If the performance of the USST as a whole was more respectable then I would have less of a case. That is my opinion but it tends to get confirmed by other people who follow the sport. Thanks for reading and commenting. It just might help some day.
Is it just me, or is the cartoon graphic of these skiers pure drivel? It's cutesy and delivers no meaningful information or insight on the race.
6
If you heard her talk this week these results come as no surprise. So much arrogance - it always leads to failure.
6
Finally a comment that gets right to the key point. I have been thinking the exact same thing. I have been following Shiffrin for many years, including the current World Cup season. She is a truly amazing athlete. Unfortunately, she has succumbed to the lure of the media. Too many interviews, wayyyy too much discussion of the number of gold medals she would get, AND an annoying commercial! She continues to show extreme arrogance, and it has really turned me off as a fan. I was also not surprised she did not win the slalom. Yes, it may be the scheduling changes.....but how about some modesty and maintaining your focus on the competition, without all of the obvious distractions that just build tension and stress....and more vomiting!
2