Winter Olympics 2022: Michelle Gisin wins back-to-back mixed, Mikaela Shiffrin out once more

Michelle Gisin’s second straight Olympic title within the Alpine mixed lifted Switzerland’s ski staff to a report haul in China.

Gisin gained Thursday’s two-leg race at Yanqing Nationwide Alpine Snowboarding Middle, finishing her slalom run shortly after Mikaela Shiffrin once more skied astray. That gave the Swiss staff a fifth Alpine gold medal on the Beijing Video games.

No nation has even gained so many Alpine occasions at one Winter Video games.

“4 years in the past I did it with my downhill and this time I did it with my slalom,” Gisin mentioned, referring to the 2 disciplines that make up the mixed race. “It’s a pity that Mikaela didn’t end. I’d like to have battled for gold together with her.”

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The 28-year-old Gisin was twelfth after the downhill however was 0.87 sooner than anybody else by the falling snow within the slalom. Her mixed time was 2 minutes, 25.67 seconds.

“It’s loopy. It’s insane, truly. I wouldn’t have thought that after the downhill,” Gisin mentioned. “I assumed, I simply need to ski the slalom of my life, and I feel that was one of many slalom runs of my life.”

Gisin, who recovered from sickness final 12 months following a analysis of mononucleosis in July, beat Switzerland teammate Wendy Holdener by greater than a second. Federica Brignone of Italy was third.

“I didn’t take sufficient danger for the win, as a result of Michelle skied wonderful,” Holdener mentioned. “However it was additionally a particular scenario as a result of I knew Mikaela was out, so not that simple.”

All three had already gained medals in China. Gisin took bronze within the super-G, Holdener earned bronze within the slalom and Brignone gained a silver within the large slalom.

“It was sudden however anticipated,” Brigone mentioned about Thursday’s medal. “In mixed within the final 5 years I’ve been probably the greatest. Within the massive occasions I by no means did it so it’s my first mixed medal and I’m fairly glad and proud.”

Switzerland’s different gold medalists had been Corinne Suter within the ladies’s downhill, Lara Intestine-Behrami within the ladies’s super-G, Marco Odermatt within the males’s large slalom and Beat Feuz within the males’s downhill.

Shiffrin was fifth-fastest within the downhill portion of the race however the two-time Olympic champion went out with out making it to the underside within the slalom leg. The American gained a silver medal within the mixed 4 years in the past.

Shiffrin has had a tough time on the slalom slope. She skied out within the large slalom and the slalom — the 2 occasions she has beforehand gained on the Olympics. She then completed ninth within the super-G and 18th in Tuesday’s downhill.

Ester Ledecka ended up in fourth place in her bid to win a back-to-back double.

The 2018 super-G champion turned the primary competitor to win gold in two totally different sports activities on the similar Winter Video games 4 years in the past. She efficiently defended her gold in snowboarding’s parallel large slalom final week however missed out in each the super-G and the mixed.