On Her Turf provided live updates during the women’s combined - the final individual alpine skiing event at the 2022 Winter Olympics. The two-run event (one run downhill, one run slalom) was won by Switzerland’s Michelle Gisin, who successfully defended her 2018 Olympic title in this event.
2022 WINTER OLYMPICS: LIVE UPDATES FROM ALPINE SKIING’S TEAM EVENT
Here’s how the race unfolded:
Women’s Combined - Live Updates from the Downhill Run:
9:30pm ET: American Isabella “Bella” Wright is the first athlete out of the gate. She crosses the line in 1:33.72... We’ll see how that holds up!
9:39pm ET: Strong downhill run from the Czech Republic’s Ester Ledecka. The dual skier/snowboarder skis into first. Ledecka is much stronger in downhill than slalom so she will likely need a solid lead in this portion of the competition in order to contend for a medal.
Video of Ester Ledecka’s downhill run in women’s combined:
Ester Ledecká takes over the lead in women's combined downhill 💫
— On Her Turf (@OnHerTurf) February 17, 2022
📺: @NBC & @peacockTV | #WinterOlympics pic.twitter.com/nTqFlBVOOw
9:45pm ET: Switzerland’s Michelle Gisin, the defending Olympic gold medalist, skis into third, 0.99 seconds behind Ledecka. The 28-year-old Swiss skier is strong in the slalom and should be able to work with that margin.
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9:47pm ET: American Keely Cashman with a solid downhill run. She skis into second, 0.66 seconds behind Ledecka.
9:49pm ET: Very good run from Mikaela Shiffrin. She skis into second, 0.55 seconds behind Ledecka. Given Shiffrin’s strength in the slalom, she is in a very strong position heading into the slalom.
Video of Mikaela Shiffrin’s downhill run in the women’s combined:
Mikaela Shiffrin has a solid downhill run 👏 She currently sits in second place.
— On Her Turf (@OnHerTurf) February 17, 2022
📺: @NBC & @peacockTV | #WinterOlympics pic.twitter.com/9gpD8MQgZA
9:51pm ET: Austria’s Christine Scheyer with a speedy downhill run, posting the fastest time of the day so far (1:32.42). Scheyer is stronger in downhill than slalom so she needed that to have any hope of winning a medal in the combined.
10:00pm ET: Austra’s Ramona Siebenhofer and France’s Romane Miradoli both with good downhill runs, skiing into third and fourth, respectively. Shiffrin currently sits in fifth, 0.56 seconds off the lead.
10:25pm ET: After her downhill run, Mikaela Shiffrin tells NBC Olympics reporter Todd Lewis that she was skiing on a pair of Sofia Goggia‘s skis. Goggia, who won silver in the downhill, left a post-it note for Shiffrin, telling her: You can fly on these skis.
10:33pm ET: That’s it for the downhill portion of the combined. While you wait for the slalom (1am ET), be sure to watch the USA-Canada gold medal hockey game at 11:05pm ET (NBC, Peacock, NBCOlympics.com).
Video of Mikaela Shiffrin talking about skiing on Sofia Goggia’s skis:
Mikaela Shiffrin competed wearing Sofia Goggia's skis in downhill today.
— On Her Turf (@OnHerTurf) February 17, 2022
Sofia wrote a sweet message for Mikaela on the skis: "You can fly." ❤️#WomenSupportingWomen | #WinterOlympics pic.twitter.com/Q8xKDPp0um
Women’s Combined - Live Updates from the Slalom Run:
1:04am ET: Austria’s Christine Scheyer is first out of the gate in the slalom portion of the combined, posting a time of 55.89 to finish at 2:28.32. Czech Republic’s Ester Ledecka takes over the lead with a 56.83, 2:29:25.
1:06am ET: Mikaela Shiffrin, fifth after the downhill portion of the combined, skis out again in the slalom, not finishing her third race in this Olympics.
1:09am ET: Slovenia’s Marusa Ferk Saioni is the next skier down and sits fourth at 2:30.12. Austria’s Ramona Siebenhofer sits in third after a 57.13, 2:29.69 total. American Keely Cashman has also skied out.
1:12am ET: Italy’s Federica Brignone takes over the lead. Brignone won silver in the giant slalom earlier this month in Beijing.
1:17am ET: Italy’s Nicol Delago and Switzerland’s Priska Nufer ski out. Five skiers have now skied out in the slalom.
1:20am ET: Switzerland’s Wendy Holdener, who won Olympic bronze in the 2018 combined, takes over first with a 53.31 (2.26.72).
1:22am ET: Swiss teammate and defending combined gold medalist Michelle Gisin edges into the lead, 1.05 seconds ahead of Holdener.
1:24am ET: Italy’s Marta Bassino, considered the last skier to realistically contend for a medal in the combined, skis out. A gold for Gisin would make Switzerland the first country to win five individual Olympic gold medals in these Games. There will be no individual gold medal for U.S. skiers in Beijing, with Ryan Cochran-Siegel‘s silver in the men’s super-G being the lone alpine medal for the Americans.
1:35am ET: After her slalom run, Mikaela Shiffrin tells NBC Olympics reporter Todd Lewis, “Oh man, I don’t know if anyone has ever failed that hard with so many opportunities, maybe in the history of the Olympics.”
1:45am ET: Switzerland wins gold and silver with Michelle Gisin defending her 2018 title and Wendy Holdener earning her fifth career Olympic medal. The win marks Gisin’s second career gold medal and her second medal of these Games, after her bronze in super G. Holdener, who won three medals in 2018, won bronze in the slalom in Beijing. Federica Brignone, in her fourth Olympics, earns her third career medal to go along with GS bronze in 2018 and GS silver in 2022.
Video of Mikaela Shiffrin’s interview after skiing out in the slalom portion of the women’s combined:
"I had some of the best skiing I've ever done - here, in Beijing."
— On Her Turf (@OnHerTurf) February 17, 2022
Mikaela Shiffrin reflects on the good that's happened in the last couple weeks ❤️ #WinterOlympics pic.twitter.com/K4w6jGnLhb
How to watch the women’s combined at the 2022 Winter Olympics:
| Event | Date / Time (U.S. Eastern) | Date / Time (Beijing, China) | How to Watch |
| Women’s Combined (Downhill Race) | 2/16/22 9:30 PM | 2/17/22 10:30 AM | NBC | Peacock | NBCOlympics.com |
| Women’s Combined (Slalom Race) | 2/17/22 1:00 AM | 2/17/22 2:00 PM | NBC | Peacock | NBCOlympics.com |
What is the combined in alpine skiing?
The combined features one run of downhill (the fastest alpine skiing event) with one run of slalom (the event with the most turns). The winner is the skier with the lowest combined time.
The top 30 athletes from the downhill portion of the competition go in reverse order for the slalom portion of the race. That is a change from the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, when the fastest downhill skiers skied in reverse order for the slalom (from 30-1).
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Women’s Combined - Beijing Olympic Course Stats:
Downhill Race:
- Course Name: Rock
- Vertical Drop: 765m
- Course Length: 2704m
2018 Olympic podium in the women’s combined:
- Gold: Michelle Gisin (SUI)
- Silver: Mikaela Shiffrin (USA)
- Bronze: Wendy Holdener (SUI)
Women’s Combined - Start List:
1 - USA - Isabella WRIGHT
2 - AUS - Greta SMALL
3 - AUT - Katharina HUBER
4 - SRB - Nevena IGNJATOVIC
5 - CZE - Ester LEDECKA
6 - ITA - Nicol DELAGO
7 - SUI - Michelle GISIN
8 - USA - Keely CASHMAN
9 - USA - Mikaela SHIFFRIN
10 - AUT - Christine SCHEYER
11 - AUT - Ramona SIEBENHOFER
12 - FRA - Romane MIRADOLI
13 - ITA - Elena CURTONI
14 - CAN - Roni REMME
15 - ITA - Marta BASSINO
16 - ITA - Federica BRIGNONE
17 - FRA - Laura GAUCHE
18 - SUI - Priska NUFER
19 - SLO - Marusa FERK
20 - SUI - Wendy HOLDENER
21 - BIH - Elvedina MUZAFERIJA
22 - ROC - Julia PLESHKOVA
23 - AND - Cande MORENO
24 - CHN - Fanying KONG
25 - USA - Tricia MANGAN
26 - CZE - Tereza NOVA
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