Alpine skier Dave Ryding's medal hopes dashed in Beijing 2022 men's slalom

Keep calm and watch slalom was Dave Ryding’s message to the Great British sport-watching public who were yet to see any medals from the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 prior to the slalom discipline of the Alpine skiing competition, which took place on Wednesday (16 January). The wait continues for the Brits, however, after Ryding finished in 13th at the Yanqing National Alpine Skiing Centre.

Ryding had a storming start to the first run, leading after the first two time splits, but came a cropper after a mistake heading into the second half of the race. By the end of the first run, Ryding was in 16th place, 1.2 seconds behind the leader, Austria's Johannes Strolz, the eventual silver medallist.

In an interview on Eurosport between runs, Ryding said: “I started good and had a good feeling. Now there’s nothing to lose, anything’s possible,” he said.

He was right. Earlier in the season, Norway’s Lucas Braathen made history by coming from 29th place after the first run – only 30 qualified for the second – to first at the Wengen World Cup in January to whoops and hollers from competitors and coaches alike. Braathen made up the most places ever to win a men's slalom.

However, this kind of miracle was not to be for Ryding as, despite a storming second run, the 35-year-old was unable to create his own history by winning Britain's first ever Alpine skiing Olympic medal.

"It's my fourth Olympics," Ryding said between runs, knowing the writing was on the wall for his medal hopes. "I’m not defined by the Olympics. I’ve had an awesome career."

The winner of the event was an emotional Clement Noel who won the first gold medal in Alpine skiing for France since Antoine Dénériaz's downhill at Turin 2006 and the first gold in slalom for