Olympics: Mikaela Shiffrin plans to compete in super-G after taking training runs

Cassandra Negley

Mikaela Shiffrin will return to the slopes and compete in the super-G after skiing out in back-to-back events, U.S. Ski and Snowboarding said Thursday.

Shiffrin took part in an official training session on Thursday with two trips down the track. She had cast doubt she would enter after a Did Not Finish in each of her first events.

The women's events are shifting from technical to speed beginning with the Super-G held Friday morning (Thursday at 10 p.m. ET in the U.S.). The three-time Olympian has never entered the event in the Olympics, but did win the title at the 2019 world championships and earned bronze last year.

Shiffrin's super-G practice 'went well'

Mikaela Shiffrin
Mikaela Shiffrin is training for the super-G to be held Friday. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) (Tom Pennington via Getty Images)

U.S. head women’s Alpine coach Paul Kristofic said the practice session "went well" and Shiffrin is looking ahead, via the Associated Press.

"It’s hard to accept what happened, but she has to work through it," Kristofic said. "And one of the better ways to do that is to keep looking forward. She has multiple events here, which is great for her. You have to look at what’s in front of you and try to put what’s behind you to rest, as difficult as that is.”

“Being outside and switching events and doing something different — it’s a different impulse, for sure, in speed, and it’s a good feeling to be out here and pushing and skiing well,” Kristofic said. “That’s part of the process to get through it.”

Shiffrin experienced a shocking start to her Beijing Olympics when she wiped out five gates into the giant slalom at the National Alpine Ski Centre on Monday morning. Two days later, she skied out of the slalom, her best event, in the same amount of time. She sat on the hill alone for 20 minutes. The 26-year-old star could become the first U.S. skier to win three Olympic gold medals.

She spoke with reporters at length in the mixed media zone after the event. A U.S. ski team spokeswoman told the AP that Shiffrin and her mother and coach, Eileen, will not "be doing any media for the foreseeable future."

Support for Shiffrin

Support for Shiffrin continued to pour out on social media in the U.S. on Wednesday as people caught up on the action from overnight. Simone Biles, who experienced her own adversity at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics held last summer, sent hearts on Twitter.

Norwegian skier Aleskander Aamodt Kilde, Shiffrin's boyfriend, shared an endearing message on Twitter that Shiffrin responded to just as sweetly.

Kilde, who won silver in the Alpine combined on Thursday, told the AP it had been a tough couple of days but Shiffrin is "a hero and she can handle this. She handles pressure like no one else, and this is something she will come out of."

Shiffrin won gold on the slalom in 2014 at the age of 18 and added gold in the giant slalom at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

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