Beijing Olympics: U.S. skiing star Mikaela Shiffrin stuns after failing to finish races

Shiffrin, who has dominated the technical events in recent years, was eliminated from the women's slalom days after crashing at the giant slalom.

Mikaela Shiffrin’s nightmare start to the Beijing Olympics continued on Wednesday as the American skied out on the first run of the slalom, failing to finish for the second race in a row.

The 26-year-old, who has dominated the technical events in recent years, was eliminated from the competition after missing an early gate. She had also crashed out on the first run of the giant slalom on Monday.

“I was pushing, there was no space to slip up even a little bit … it feels like a really big let down,” Shiffrin told reporters.

“My entire career has taught me to trust in my skiing … when the pressure is high, of course the pressure is high but that didn’t feel like the biggest issue today.

“It’s not the end of the world and it’s stupid to care this much but I feel like I have to question a lot now.”

The four-time world champion won gold in the slalom at the Sochi Olympics in 2014 and finished fourth in Pyeongchang four years later.

Germany’s Lena Duerr, who leads the first run with a time of 52.17, said it was rare to see Shiffrin go out so soon.

“It’s very unusual for Mikaela to go out this early, also in the giant slalom and now in the slalom , clearly something is off,” she said.