what happened to shiffrin in beijing
Mikaela Shiffrin’s Beijing story was a shock: despite being one of the biggest favorites of the 2022 Winter Olympics, she left Beijing without a single medal after multiple rare, early mistakes in her races.
What happened to Shiffrin in Beijing?
In Beijing 2022, Shiffrin competed in six events and did not win a medal in any of them, which was stunning given her status as one of the most successful alpine skiers in history. Expectations were that she might contend for several golds, especially in her specialties, giant slalom and slalom.
Her individual event results were:
- Giant slalom (Feb 7): Did not finish (DNF) on the first run after skiing out early in the course.
- Slalom (Feb 9): DNF again on the first run, missing a gate and exiting extremely early in her signature event.
- Super-G (Feb 11): Finished 9th, a solid but off‑podium result.
- Downhill (Feb 15): Finished 18th.
- Alpine combined (Feb 17): 5th in the downhill run but DNF in the slalom leg, her third DNF of the Games.
- Mixed team parallel: Helped Team USA reach the small final, where they finished 4th after a 2–2 tie with Norway was decided on combined time.
The headline takeaway: she had three DNFs (giant slalom, slalom, and combined slalom run), no medals, and a 4th-place team finish—far below pre‑Games expectations.
Why was it such a big deal?
Shiffrin went into Beijing as a multi‑time Olympic champion and record‑setting World Cup star, especially dominant in slalom. Just weeks before the Games, she had broken the all‑time World Cup record for wins in a single discipline, underlining why many expected her to collect multiple gold medals.
Because she was viewed as a near‑automatic contender in several events, the unexpected DNFs created a huge media and fan reaction, with a lot of scrutiny on how such a consistent skier could suddenly falter on the biggest stage. The contrast—GOAT‑level résumé vs. no medals—made “what happened to Shiffrin in Beijing” a major talking point during and after the Games.
How did the races actually go wrong?
In her early DNFs, the errors were technical but happened very fast:
- In the giant slalom, she skied out just a handful of gates into her first run, something almost unheard of for her in that event.
- In the slalom, her best event, she again missed a gate early in the first run and was out almost immediately, which stunned commentators and Shiffrin herself.
- In the combined, after a strong downhill part (5th), she straddled a gate during the slalom leg, leading to a third DNF.
Technically, we’re talking about tiny mistakes—slight line errors, missed gates—that on any given World Cup day might be a blip, but at the Olympics they ended her medal chances in seconds.
Mental pressure, emotions, and reaction
The Beijing experience clearly took a psychological toll. After her second straight DNF, Shiffrin sat by the side of the course for a long time, then told reporters she was “processing a lot” and that the failures made her question “the last 15 years” of what she thought she knew about her skiing and racing mentality. She described feeling devastated and “like a joke” after the third DNF in the combined.
She also responded publicly to criticism on social media. She shared screenshots of harsh comments calling her things like a “choker” and “disgrace,” then posted a message telling “kids” to get up again and again despite hate and failure. In later interviews, she likened her experience to Simone Biles’ struggles at the Tokyo Olympics, talking about the disconnect between what she knew she could do and what her body actually did under Olympic pressure.
At the same time, in the mixed team event she emphasized pride in Team USA and spoke about how her teammates “carried” her through a very difficult Olympics emotionally. That mix of disappointment, vulnerability, and determination is a big part of why Beijing became a defining chapter in her story.
What happened after Beijing?
Beijing did not mark the end of Shiffrin’s dominance. She continued to win World Cup races and crystal globes in the seasons that followed. The “Beijing drought” label, however, stuck with her until she finally won Olympic slalom gold again at a later Winter Games, snapping an eight‑year Olympic medal drought and ending constant questions about whether she could deliver at the Games after 2022.
That later gold was widely framed as redemption for her Beijing nightmare, showing that the roughest Olympic chapter of her career didn’t define her long‑term legacy.
TL;DR: In Beijing 2022, Mikaela Shiffrin—expected to win multiple golds—had three shocking DNFs, no medals, and a 4th‑place team finish, triggering intense scrutiny and emotional fallout, but she later rebounded and returned to Olympic gold, turning Beijing into a low point she ultimately overcame.
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