Shiffrin Drops Downhill As Combined Schedule Changed, Vonn Third In Second DH Training Run

With the announced move of the Olympic alpine combined event from Friday to Thursday, Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, Colo.) will not start in Wednesday’s Olympic downhill in order to focus on the combined.

“As much as I wanted to compete in the Olympic downhill, with the schedule change it’s important for me to focus my energy on preparing for the combined,” said Shiffrin. “I’m looking forward to cheering on our girls racing in the downhill and to compete myself in Thursday’s combined.

“This track is incredible and it has been so fun to ski these last few days. As with every downhill I have skied this year I am learning so much with each run. Each time I get to the finish I just want to go back to the top and do it again!”

Shiffrin had always planned to compete in the giant slalom, slalom and the alpine combined, with decisions to be made at games time relative to her participation in both the super-G and the downhill.

On Monday evening, organizers announced a move of the alpine combined from Friday to Thursday due to projected weather, including high winds. The men’s slalom will remain on Thursday.

The new start time for women’s alpine combined is 11:30 a.m. KT Thursday / 9:30 p.m. EST Wednesday. Men's slalom still will be held on Friday, but now will start at 10:00 a.m. KT / 8:00 p.m. EST Thursday.

Lindsey Vonn (Vail, Colo.) finished third in Monday’s second downhill training run at Jeongseon Alpine Centre. Alice McKennis (Glenwood Springs, Colo.) was ninth, followed by Breezy Johnson (Victor, Idaho) in 12th; Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, Colo.) 16th; Laurenne Ross (Bend. Ore.) 19th; Alice Merryweather (Hingham, Mass.) 34th; and Stacey Cook (Mammoth Mountain, Calif.) 38th.

Team USA will announce its starting lineup on Tuesday for the women’s downhill, scheduled to start Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. KT / 9:00 p.m. EST Tuesday.