Olympics

From a field of 22 competitors representing 12 nations, the top 12 female halfpipe snowboarders have advanced to Wednesday's final (Thursday morning in China) at the Beijing Olympics.

Unsurprisingly, Chloe Kim, the heavy favorite coming in to this event, earned the top score 87.75 as the top qualifier heading into the final. However, she was the only member of the American team—also including Maddie Mastro, Tessa Maud and Zoe Kalapos—to advance to the final. 

Kim, who became the youngest female snowboarder to win Olympic gold in 2018 at the Pyeongchang Games when she was 17, finds herself in the high-pressure position of being potentially the first American to win gold at these Olympics.

After Day 5, the U.S. was tied for seventh place with six total medals, but this is the most events the team has participated in at any Winter Games without earning a gold medal. 

Historically strong in snowboarding, this was the first year since the slopestyle discipline was introduced at the 2014 Sochi Games that an American did not top the podium. And while Shaun White is the defending halfpipe Olympic gold medalist from 2018, he's not favored to repeat this year. 

So it comes down to Kim, the only woman with two 1080s in her run, to put down what she knows she has in her bag (plus the three new tricks she said she hopes to debut in Beijing). 

Let's take a closer look at what to look for in the final, including the odds and riders' signature tricks. 

Women's Snowboard Halfpipe Final Start List

1. Leng Qiu, China 

2. Leilani Ettel, Germany 

3. Brooke Dhondt, Canada 

4. Elizabeth Hosking, Canada

5. Berenice Wicki, Switzerland

6. Jiayu Liu, China

7. Ruki Tomita, Japan

8. Sena Tomita, Japan

9. Queralt Castellet, Spain 

10. Cai Xuetong, China

11. Mitsuki Ono, Japan 

12. Chloe Kim, United States

Women's Snowboard Halfpipe Final Odds

Chloe Kim -380

Cai Xuetong +600

Queralt Castellet +850

Sena Tomita +1400

Women's Snowboard Halfpipe Schedule

Date: Wednesday, Feb. 9 (Thursday in China)

Time: 8:30 p.m. ET

TV: NBC

Live Stream: Peacock, NBCOlympics.com

Kim, 21, didn't need to attempt her best trick, a cab 1080 (switch frontside, three full rotations), to advance to the women's halfpipe final. A cab 900 and a switch backside 540 highlighted her first run, which earned her the top score of 87.75 that held throughout the entire qualifier. 

Amplitude is rewarded heavily by the judges, and Kim reached nearly 13 feet on her first run. 

While she fell on her second run while attempting a backside 720, only the top score from the two runs counts. There are three runs in the final, with the top score counting. 

"I'm really stoked on my first run. I honestly just wanted to take the second run and try a different line," Kim said after the qualifier, per Olympics.com. "I've never practiced it before, so not surprised that I fell."

Indeed, Kim is doing everything she can to debut those new tricks at the Games. She had them ready to go at Dew Tour in December, where she finished first, but she wasn't able to incorporate them into her run. 

Japan's Mitsuki Ono and China's Cai Xuetong qualified second and third at 83.75 and 83.25, respectively. 

Cai is ranked No. 1 in the world in women's halfpipe and has the best chance to spoil Kim's attempt to defend her Olympic gold. A two-time world champion, the Chinese star won a World Cup title in December 2021 and finished runner-up at the U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth Mountain in January. In January's Laax Open, she placed seventh. 

Castellet, who had a big lien air in her best qualifying run, is coached by two-time Olympic silver medalist Danny Kaas. The 32-year-old has made the podium in each of her last seven contests. 

Even though the U.S. has a handful of regulation-size 22-foot halfpipes that riders can train on, the Olympic halfpipe is longer (623 feet, compared to about 580 feet for the U.S. 22-foot halfpipes), meaning that riders who are used to having five hits as they traverse up and down the halfpipe walls need to work a sixth trick into their Olympic runs. 

And the judges will penalize them if they don't.

The women's final, which takes place Thursday morning in China, will be broadcast Wednesday night in the U.S.

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

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A new Olympic champion will be crowned in the men's snowboard cross Thursday morning.

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Pierre Vaultier retired in the time between the Pyeongchang and Beijing Games. That opened up the chance for the third winner of the event to be named in China.

Vaultier and American Seth Wescott won consecutive titles in the first four iterations of the event on the Olympic level.

Austria's Alessandro Hammerle is the favorite this year, but he sits second in the FIS World Cup standings this season, and he took silver at the most recent World Championships in 2021. Reigning world champion Lucas Eguibar of Spain and World Cup leader Martin Norl will also be in the mix for the medals in what is one of the more open fields in Olympic snowboarding.

Men's Snowboard Cross Schedule

Seeding Run: Wednesday, 10:15 p.m. ET 

Round of 16: Thursday, 1 a.m. ET (Coverage starts on USA Network)

Quarterfinals: Thursday, 1:37 a.m. ET 

Semifinals: Thursday, 1:58 a.m. ET 

Final: Thursday, 2:15 a.m. ET 

Event can be live-streamed on NBCOlympics.com and Peacock.

Event Odds

Alessandro Hammerle: +400 (bet $100 to win $400)

Martin Norl: +500

Jakob Dusek: +500

Eliot Gronding: +700

Merlin Surget: +800

Glenn de Blois: +1000

Lucas Eguibar: +1500

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

Preview

Martin Norl is the second-favorite, but he could be considered the snowboarder to beat. The German took over the lead in the FIS World Cup standings by winning three events in January, two of which occurred in Russia and the other came in Italy.

Norl is in great form and could make up for his eighth-place finish at the 2021 World Championships by taking gold in Beijing.

Hammerle produced mixed results in the buildup to the Games. He took second to Norl in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, in late January, but he also finished ninth and 19th in two races in Russia to start 2022. Hammerle's favorite status could be called into question because of those recent results and Norl's World Cup form.

The same could be said about Lucas Eguibar. The reigning world champion in snowboard cross did not finish inside the top 10 in either race in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, to start January and finished fifth in Cortina d'Ampezzo.

France's Merlin Surget and Austria's Jakob Dusek took second-place finishes in the two races in Russia, but neither competitor placed in the top five in Italy.

The inconsistencies of some top contenders make the snowboard cross hard to predict, but it may also make it one of the most thrilling events on the Olympic schedule. Most of the contenders are going after their first Olympic podium, and whoever handles the pressure the best may end up on top.

Picks: 1. Martin Norl (Germany), 2. Lucas Eguibar (Spain), 3. Alessandro Hammerle (Austria) 

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The fifth time was the charm for American snowboarder Lindsey Jacobellis. 

She captured her first Olympic gold medal with a victory in the women's snowboard cross final Wednesday (Tuesday night in the U.S.).

Jacobellis beat out France's Chloe Trespeuch, Canada's Meryeta Odine and Australia's Belle Brockhoff in the big final. The 36-year-old's win also gave the United States its first gold medal of the 2022 Olympics.

Per Jay Busbee of Yahoo Sports, Jacobellis is the oldest American woman to win gold in Winter Olympics history. 

One of the most decorated snowboarders in history, the only thing missing from Jacobellis' resume was an Olympic gold. She has won the World Championships six times and 10 Winter X Games gold medals. 

Jacobellis had an Olympic silver medal in this event from her first appearance at the Games in 2006. That event is remembered for her attempting a method grab near the end of the race when she seemed to have the win wrapped up, but she fell and was passed by Tanja Frieden at the finish line.

Speaking to Olympics.com after her win, Jacobellis said she wasn't thinking about redeeming herself from that moment in Turin 16 years ago. 

"I didn't have that in my mind coming here, I just wanted to have fun, being my fifth appearance at an Olympics. My thought going into this was, 'it's either going to happen or it's not', and 'it could be my day or it could be another one of the ladies' days', so it just happened that all the stars lined up for me, for it to be my day."

Jacobellis was on the U.S. Olympic team in 2010 and 2014, but she failed to reach the medal round either time. She reached the final four years ago in Pyeongchang but just missed the podium with a fourth-place finish. 

A member of the gold-medal-winning Russian Olympic Committee figure skating team reportedly returned a positive drug test at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

According to Christine Brennan of USA Today, the positive test resulted in the delay of Tuesday's planned medal ceremony.

International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams said there was an ongoing legal issue, adding: "We have athletes that have won medals involved."

While it isn't known which Russian skater reportedly failed a drug test, the members of the team are Kamila Valieva, Mark Kondratiuk, Anastasia Mishina, Aleksandr Galliamov, Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov.

The ROC won gold in dominant fashion Monday, finishing with 74 total points. The United States was second with 65, Japan finished third with 63 and Canada was just off the podium with 53.

The most notable name on the ROC team is 15-year-old Valieva, who is a heavy favorite to win individual gold in women's figure skating.

Valieva, who is the reigning European champion, owns the world record for the highest score in both the short program and free skate. She has also made Olympic history in Beijing.

During the team competition, Valieva became the first female competitor to ever land a quadruple jump during the Olympics.

The other members of the ROC team are medal contenders as well. Kondratiuk is the reigning European champion in men's singles, while Galliamov and Mishina won the world championship in pairs last year, as did Katsalapov and Sinitsina in ice dancing.

If the reported positive drug test causes the ROC to be stripped of its gold-medal win, the Americans would be elevated to the top of the podium, Japan would take silver and Canada would get bronze.

While Team USA couldn't keep pace with the Russians, the United States brought an excellent squad to Beijing, highlighted by men's singles gold-medal favorite Nathan Chen and Karen Chen, who is a potential medal contender in women's singles.

If the ROC's gold-medal win holds up, however, it will mark the third time Russian athletes have won a medal in the Olympic team event, which has been held in each of the past three Winter Games.

As the six-time defending United States champion and three-time defending world champion, Nathan Chen headed to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing as the clear gold-medal favorite in men's figure skating. Since his arrival, he has lived up to the hype.

First, the 22-year-old helped the U.S. capture a silver medal in the team event by placing first in the men's short program competition. Then, he got off to a stellar start in the men's individual event, when he set a world record in the short program with a score of 113.97 points.

Now, Chen will look to have one more strong performance in the men's free skate, which is set to take place Wednesday night (Thursday morning in Beijing). And there's a good chance he'll come away with his first individual Olympic medal.

Here's everything you need to know heading into the men's free skate event.

Men's Free Skate Information

Date: Wednesday, Feb. 9

Start Time: 8:30 p.m. ET

TV: USA Network

Live Stream: Peacock and NBCOlympics.com

Preview, Predictions

Chen has skated two short programs in the 2022 Winter Olympics, and both went much better than the last time he competed at this level. In 2018, he ended up in fifth in the men's event in his Olympic debut.

Since then, the Salt Lake City native has dominated both the U.S. and world championships. So it was expected that he would improve upon his previous Olympic showing and would be the front-runner for the gold.

That's turned out to be the case so far, and Chen has been pleased with his performances in the short programs in both the team and men's competitions.

"I was just elated," he said, per Dave Skretta of the Associated Press. "At the last Olympics, both of the short programs didn't go the way I wanted. To finally get an opportunity to skate the programs I wanted feels really good."

If Chen can perform just as well in the free skate, he'll capture the gold. But there are several other strong competitors who could also end up atop the medal stand if they can put together a showing better than the American.

There are 24 skaters who will be participating in the men's free skate, including three solid competitors from Japan. Yuma Kagiyama and Shoma Uno placed second and third in the short program, respectively, while Yuzuru Hanyu (who won the men's gold in 2014 and 2018) was in eighth.

Hanyu's performance was a bit surprising, as it was expected that he would be Chen's top competition for the gold. It may be too much for him to now overcome, as Kagiyama and Uno seem more likely to chase gold in the free skate.

Uno won the silver medal in his Olympic debut in 2018, and he's in a good position for another podium finish this time. Kagiyama has never previously competed at the Olympics, but he earned the silver at the 2021 world championships, behind Chen.

It's likely Kagiyama and Uno will each perform well again in the free skate. But will it be enough for either to overtake Chen?

The prediction here is that it won't. The U.S. star would have to make a mistake during his routine to slow his recent momentum, and that seems highly unlikely considering how well he has been performing.

Chen will cap off his impressive Olympic showing with his first gold, while Uno and Kagiyama will fare well enough to end up on the medal stand.

Predictions: 1. Chen; 2. Uno; 3. Kagiyama.

Two individual elements of the alpine skiing program at the Winter Olympics are put together for the combined event. 

The top men's skiers in the world take on the downhill and slalom courses as part of the combined competition that begins Wednesday night in Beijing. 

Competitors already have a taste of the downhill course at the Games since that was the first event of the men's program. 

Downhill is the first of the two disciplines that will take place in the combined competition. Two runs on the slalom course will take place early Thursday morning (Eastern Time). 

The contenders for the combined competition may not be the same as the individual events. Success comes down to either consistency on both courses or a standout run in one event and a decent time in the other. 

For example, most of the top downhill racers and slalom skiers are not great in the alternative discipline. That could lead to more all-around skiers being at the top of the leaderboard instead of the event specialists. 

Men's Combined Info

Downhill: Wednesday, 9:30 p.m. ET 

Slalom: Thursday, 1:15 a.m. ET 

Events can be live-streamed on NBCOlympics.com and Peacock.

Preview

Austria's Marco Schwarz and Alexis Pinturault of France are the two skiers to beat in the combined event. 

Pinturault is the highest returning finisher from the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, where he took silver behind Marcel Fischer of Austria. 

Pinturault has won gold and silver in two of the three world championship events since then, though, and placed second behind Schwarz at the 2021 World Championships in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. 

The 30-year-old is aiming to become the first Frenchman to win the event since 1948. Austria, Norway and the United States have won the competition in six of the last seven Winter Olympics. 

Schwarz will try to extend that streak and give Austria its fourth gold medal in the men's combined event. He won the world title in the event in Cortina d'Ampezzo last year. 

Switzerland's Loic Meillard and James Crawford of Canada took third and fourth, respectively, in Italy and should be in the medal conversation as well. 

Christof Innerhofer of Italy and Norway's Aleksander Aamodt Kilde are the two biggest names on the entry sheet. 

Innerhofer, who is best at the downhill, won the bronze medal in the combined event in Sochi and placed second in the event at the 2011 World Championships.

Kilde is one of the best all-around skiers in the world and can't be discounted at the Games, especially if he thrives in the downhill run.

The Norwegian is second overall in the FIS World Cup standings and comes into the combined event off a win in the Super G. 

The United States does not have a medal threat in this event. The best finish by an American in the combined at the 2021 World Championships was 16th place for Bryce Bennett. 

One of the United States' best shots to win multiple gold medals in a day at the 2022 Winter Olympics comes on Wednesday. 

Nathan Chen is one strong skate away from winning the gold in the men's figure skating event. 

Chen came into the Games as the biggest gold-medal favorite among the American contingent in Beijing because of his dominance of the world championship circuit. 

Chloe Kim returns to the Olympic snowboarding stage in search of a gold-medal defense in the women's halfpipe. She is trying to extend the American gold-medal streak in the event to three. 

The two potential victories would be a massive boost to the American medal total after a disappointing first few days in China. 

Wednesday Olympic Coverage

Curling: Men's round robin (7:05 a.m. ET) 

Luge: Men's doubles run 1 (7:20 a.m. ET) 

Short Track: Men's 1,500m semifinals (7:29 a.m. ET)

Short Track: Women's 3,000m relay semifinals (7:45 a.m. ET) 

Hockey: Czech Republic vs. Denmark (men's) (8:10 a.m. ET, USA Network) 

Short Track: Men's 1,500m final (8:13 a.m. ET) 

Luge: Men's doubles run 2 (8:35 a.m. ET)

Curling: Women's round robin (8:05 p.m. ET) 

Figure Skating: Men's free skate (8:30 p.m. ET, NBC) 

Skeleton: Men's individual run 1 (8:30 p.m. ET, USA Network) 

Snowboarding: Women's halfpipe (8:30 p.m. ET, NBC) 

Alpine Skiing: Men's combined downhill (9:30 p.m. ET)

Skeleton: Men's individual run 2 (10 p.m. ET)

Snowboarding: Men's snowboard cross (10:15 p.m. ET, USA Network)

Hockey: Sweden vs. Latvia (men's) (11:10 p.m. ET, CNBC) 

Nathan Chen Trying to Finish Off Men's Figure Skating Gold

Chen crushed the first half of the men's singles competition on Monday. The American set a new world-record score in the short program with 113.97 points. 

Chen earned redemption from four years ago, when a disastrous short program cost him a shot at a medal in Pyeongchang, South Korea. He began to erase those demons by winning the men's short program portion of the team event to kick off the figure skating program in Beijing. 

He completed that cycle by topping the men's singles standings, but now he has to finish the job in the free skate. 

Chen comes into Wednesday with a five-point lead over Japan's Yuma Kagiyama and an eight-point advantage over Shoma Uno from Japan. 

The Japanese men came into Beijing as the biggest medal threats to Chen, but the challenge eased a bit after Yuzuru Hanyu went through a rough short program. 

The 22-year-old should skate with a ton of confidence on Wednesday night in a discipline in which he destroyed his competition at the 2021 World Championships. 

Chen recorded a score of 222.03, which was over 30 points better than Kagiyama, who finished in second place. 

As long as Chen skates like he has already in Beijing, he should come away with the first men's singles gold for the United States since Evan Lysacek in 2010. 

Pick: Nathan Chen

Chloe Kim After Second Women's Halfpipe Gold 

Kim's bid to become the first repeat gold-medal winner in the women's halfpipe got off to a strong start on Tuesday. 

The 21-year-old recorded the best score in the preliminary round, which gives her the benefit of starting last during Wednesday's final runs. 

Between Pyeongchang and Beijing, Kim won two world championship events in the women's halfpipe in 2019 and 2021. Last season, Kim qualified with the best score in the event and then beat out fellow American Maddie Mastro by four points. 

Mastro came up one spot shy of qualifying for the final round, so Kim is the lone American medal hopeful in an event that has been won by the United States on four occasions. 

China's Liu Jiayu is the only other previous medalist in the 12-person final. That gives Kim the edge in experience over most of the field. 

Just like Chen, Kim should take home the gold medal if she competes at her typical high level on the halfpipe. 

Pick: Chloe Kim

If Tuesday's qualification runs were any indication, Japan's Ayumu Hirano will be the one to beat in the men's snowboard halfpipe at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

Hirano paced the field with a score of 93.25, which put him safely into Thursday's final. Each of the 25 competitors were scheduled for two runs in qualifications with the best single score counting, and the top 12 advanced to the three-run final where their qualification scores will not carry over.

Here is a look at the 12 qualifying scores, per the Olympics' official website:

1. Ayumu Hirano (JPN), 93.25
2. Scotty James (AUS), 91.25
3. Ruka Hirano (JPN), 87.00
4. Shaun White (USA), 86.25
5. Valentino Guseli (AUS), 85.75
6. Yuto Totsuka (JPN), 84.50
7. Taylor Gold (USA), 83.50
8. Jan Scherrer (SUI), 79.25
9. Kaishu Hirano (JPN), 77.25
10. Andre Hoeflich (GER), 75.00
11. Patrick Burgener (SUI), 73.00
12. Chase Josey (USA), 69.50

The biggest storyline coming into the event, at least from an American perspective, was the presence of 35-year-old Shaun White. Not only did he become the event's oldest men's competitor in Olympic history by participating, but he also did so with the knowledge this will be the last-ever Olympic Games of his legendary career.

"This has all had its amazing glow to every single decision and every single competition because I've decided this will be my last Olympics," White told reporters.

A major difference this time around is the reality he was not the favorite despite taking home the gold medal at the 2006, 2010 and 2018 Games.

That is a testament to a loaded field that includes reigning X Games champion Scotty James of Australia and Japan's talented trio of Ayumu Hirano, Yuto Totsuka and Ruka Hirano. Ayumu Hirano has won the last two Olympic silver medals.

White's four biggest challengers followed the script during the first run and were all in the top five, with James leading the way.

However, the pressure was firmly on the American star, who fell during his first run and needed a solid second attempt just to qualify for the final in his last Olympics.

As if there wasn't enough pressure on him, Ayumu Hirano, Ruka Hirano and James all improved on their scores in the second run—with the latter busting out a frontside 1620 tail grab—underscoring just how loaded the field is in Beijing.

Yet White, as he has so many times throughout his legendary career, came through in the clutch with an impressive run that included a frontside double-cork 1080 and a double McTwist 1260.

While it wasn't good enough to beat Ayumu Hirano, James or Ruka Hirano, it set the stage for what promises to be a memorable final.

Birk Ruud won the Beijing Games' men's freestyle skiing big air event, which made its Winter Olympics debut.

The Norwegian's two-run score of 187.75 proved to be the best in the 12-person field, with the United States' Colby Stevenson (183.00) and Sweden's Henrik Harlaut (181.00) taking silver and bronze, respectively.

Each of the 12 finalists had three runs, with the top two results combining to serve as their ultimate score.

Here's a look at the final results.

Order of Finish

1. Birk Ruud (Norway): 187.75

2. Colby Stevenson (United States): 183.00

3. Henrik Harlaut (Sweden): 181.00

4. Oliwer Magnusson (Sweden): 178.25

5. Leonardo Donaggio (Italy): 172.00

6. Javier Lliso (Spain): 171.50

7. Jesper Tjader (Sweden): 170.25

8. Alexander Hall (United States): 160.75

9. Evan McEachran (Canada): 115.50

10. Christian Nummedal (Norway): 110.50

11. Mac Forehand (United States): 80.25

12. Tormod Frostad (Norway): 58.50

Source: olympics.com

Notes

Thirty-one skiers participated in the qualifying round, with the field getting whittled down to 12.

Ruud finished first in qualifying, and he continued to set the bar in the finals. He posted the single-best individual run on his first go-around, posting 95.75.

Ruud followed that up with 92 points in his second run, and his third and final run ended up being moot after he amassed the gold-medal-winning 187.75-point result.

The 21-year-old has earned four X Games medals in big air (two gold, two silver). He also took silver in slopestyle at the 2019 World Championships. Now he has an Olympic gold medal on his resume.

Stevenson overcame a tough first run (34.75) to post back-to-back runs over 90 points (91.75, 91.25) to vault onto the second spot on the podium.

Stevenson has now earned his second silver medal in a major event, having won second at the 2021 World Championships in slopestyle.

Both Ruud and Stevenson experienced personal hardships prior to this point.

Ruud's father died 10 months ago from cancer.

Stevenson suffered numerous traumatic head and neck injuries after a car crash in May 2016:

"Stevenson shattered his skull in 30 places, his neck was 'crushed like an accordion,' along with a broken eye socket and ribs. He was placed in a medically-induced coma for three days," per OlympicTalk last December.

Yet the pair shined in the competition's Olympic debut.

The 30-year-old Harlaut rounded out the podium. He was the competition's most consistent skier, serving as the only one to post scores of 80 or more points on each of his three runs. In fact, Harlaut's "worst run," his first, resulted in an 86. He followed up with 90 points in his second run and 91 for the third.

The Swede is an eight-time X Games gold medalist, with six of those honors occurring in the big air competition. He also won silver at the 2019 World Championships in big air.

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Mikaela Shiffrin missed a gate early in her race during the women's slalom event Wednesday (Tuesday ET), disqualifying her from the second straight race at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

Afterward, a clearly dejected and stunned Shiffrin sat on the slope, just off the course, before giving an emotional interview with NBC's Todd Lewis.

"I had every intention to go full gas." she said through tears. "... This makes me second-guess, like, the last 15 years, everything I thought I knew about my own skiing, in slalom, and my own racing mentality."

Shiffrin failed to finish in the giant slalom Monday. It was the first time in 30 races and four years that she did not finish a giant slalom event. She won gold in the giant slalom in the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.

"I won't ever get over this," the 26-year-old told reporters Monday. "I've never gotten over any."

Wednesday's DNF result was just as surprising. Shiffrin won gold in the event at the 2014 Sochi Games. And posting back-to-back DNFs was downright shocking.

Gymnast Simone Biles and former Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn expressed their support for Shiffrin after the race:

There is plenty of time for redemption for the three-time Olympic medalist, three-time World Cup overall champion and six-time world champion at Beijing. Shiffrin came to the 2022 Games with the intention of entering all five women's Alpine events, giving her three more cracks at a medal.

"A very aggressive game plan," Shiffrin acknowledged in November. "I don't know if that's going to work."

The downhill, super-G and combined events remain.

If one of them is a gold, she will be the first Alpine skier from the United States ever to claim three Olympic golds. Shiffrin might yet make history in these Games. But she'll have to battle through the adversity of the past few days to do so.