The world ski championship is known for its surprising performances, and the 2023 season is proving why. On the opening day of the World Ski Championship, fans witnessed a massive turn of events when the defending champion Mikaela Shiffrin failed to bag the gold medal. With 85 wins in the World Cup, she failed to finish first in a close encounter. 

Shiffrin is participating in her first major event after her dry run at the Beijing Olympics. Fans were expecting a thrilling performance from the defending, which she delivered. However, the results could not land in her favor. 

The unfortunate disqualification

Star Alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin was three gates away from the gold medal on the opening day of the World Championships. The women’s event was a combination of a slalom and a Super-G segment. The American star was trailing behind the leader of the event by 1 second during the Super-G segment. Shiffrin tried to save the maximum time during the slalom. However, it wasn’t enough to surpass Federica Brignone from Italy. The American star was doing pretty well until she lost her balance and placed one ski on the wrong side. 

The amazing run by the 85-time World champion came to a disappointing end as she got disqualified. The defending champion told the Associated Press that she enjoyed her performance in the event. “Of course, I am disappointed not to finish and not to get a medal but I am also quite excited because I was king really well,” she told the Associated Press. 

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Shiffrin was really happy with her comeback in the slalom. The 6-time world title winner will have a gap of one day before she enters another Super-G on Wednesday. Fans are hoping for a dry spell to end in the upcoming event. However, the champion skier recently talked about her approach to the pressure from fans and the skiing community. 

How Mikaela Shiffrin handles pressure

Mikaela’s iconic performance has made her a global topic and received massive appreciation from fans. Before the commencement of the latest World Championship, Shiffrin opened up on her attitude towards excessive pressure. 

The pressure of big matches does affect her mindset. “I kind of don’t care”, she said. Even after her glorious career, the alpine skier has never been overconfident and always takes every event seriously. It would be interesting to see how the iconic skier performs in the upcoming event. 

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