Olympics Slalom Live Results: Mikaela Shiffrin Says She Was Ill Before Race

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea — With a giant slalom gold medal already clinched, Mikaela Shiffrin was a big favorite in her best event, the slalom. After her first run, she sits in fourth place and has a lot of ground to make up. Stay here for live updates and analysis:

Mikaela Shiffrin Was Ill Before Competition

Shortly after her run, Shiffrin told NBC she vomited before the competition. Despite her cool exterior, Shiffrin is a self-confessed nervous-wreck who often does word-searches and other puzzles in the minutes before racing to take her mind off the competition and calm her nerves. Sometimes it works, but sometimes she vomits before a big race. She told NBC “It was kind of sudden it almost felt like a virus kind of puking less about nerves.”

If Shiffrin somehow pulls this out, it’s a dream storyline for NBC

Mikaela Shiffrin in Fourth Place After First Run

With the best women’s slalom skiers in the world already down the mountain, here’s what the rest of the day looks like for Mikaela Shiffrin — rest, a snack, an likely plenty of time going over video of that first run that right now has her out of the medals in fourth place, .48 behind the leader, Wendy Holdener of Switzerland.

Holdener is the fourth-ranked slalom skier in the world. Also in front of Shiffrin are two Swedes, Frida Handotter, ranked third in the world in the event, and Anna Swenn Larsson, who is ranked ninth.

This is a far different situation than Thursday in the giant slalom, when Shiffrin was in second after the first run and the only skier in front of her was Italy’s Manuela Moelgg, who was a surprise leader.

The deficit means Shiffrin will have to ski aggressively but not so aggressively that she misses a gate and blows her chance to medal in an event that was supposed to be a lock for her.

A Clean Run for Shiffrin, but Behind Wendy Holdener

Mikaela Shiffrin just showed the world how good Wendy Holdener’s first run really was. Shiffrin skied very clean but was slower at the top and finished .48 behind Holdener. This makes things very interesting for this afternoon. Anna Swenn Larsson of Sweden then leapt ahead of Shiffrin into second place. Major upset in the works here, unless Shiffrin stages another impressive comeback like she did Thursday.

Top Skiers Are Out of the Gate

Wendy Holdener of Switzerland was first out of the gate with a 48.89. Nina Haver-Loeseth of Norway, couldn’t get within a half-second of her. That brought up Petrewa Vlhova of Slovakia, who is Mikaela Shiffrin’s main competition. Vlhova never found her rhythm and finished 2.23 behind Holdener.

Women’s Slalom Top Story Lines

• Shiffrin is the reigning Olympic champion, the three-time defending world champion and a four-time World Cup winner in the event. But she does not want to stop at slalom: “I work to become not just the best slalom skier in the world, but the best skier in the world. Period.”

• Despite being the heavy favorite, Shiffrin is bucking some history. No one, man or woman, has ever defended an Olympic slalom title.

• Petra Vlhova of Slovakia is the only other woman to win a World Cup slalom event this season.

• Win or lose her best event, Shiffrin is ambitious for more Olympics glory: She could win the combined and maybe even the downhill as well, although she says she will not enter the super-G.

• In the first of two runs, Shiffrin will ski third. The combined time of the two runs will determine the medals.

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