March 29, 2024

Vonn leads, Shiffrin in mix after downhill leg of combined

JEONGSEON, South Korea (AP) — The first — and likely only — Olympic race between Lindsey Vonn and her U.S. teammate Mikaela Shiffrin will go down to the wire.

Vonn took care of business in her specialty and has 1.98-second lead over Shiffrin after the downhill portion of the Olympic Alpine combined on Thursday.

Now, it switches to Shiffrin’s forte — the slalom. Both times are combined to determine the winner.

Vonn posted the fastest time in 1 minute, 39.37 seconds, with Shiffrin not all that far back in sixth spot even after what she described as a “big mistake” near the top.

Shiffrin’s signature event is the slalom. She won the Olympic title in the discipline four years ago in Sochi, before finishing fourth in the event earlier at these Games.

Shiffrin is vying for her third career Olympic gold medal, which would be the most in American Alpine skiing history.  She also won the giant slalom in Pyeongchang a week ago.

This very well could be Vonn’s last race in the Olympics. At 33, she’s already the oldest female Alpine ski racer to earn a medal at the Winter Games with her bronze medal in the downhill on Wednesday.