Beijing 2022: More DNF disappointment for US star Mikaela Shiffrin

Mikaela Shiffrin insists that it was not the weight of expectations that led to her failing to finish her third race at the Winter Olympics. The American was a strong favourite to win gold in the combined event and was well placed after finishing fifth fastest in the morning's downhill leg. But returning to the Ice River course, where she had skied out in both the giant slalom and slalom, her favourite events, Shiffrin missed a gate and skied out yet again.

Switzerland's defending champion Michelle Gisin won gold in the event for a second time, sharing the podium with compatriot and silver medallist Wendy Holdener. Italian Brignone landed the bronze.

There were no tears from Shiffrin, as there were after she skied out of the slalom last week, and no excuses as she discussed her failure at these Games. "In general, people want to be able to say it's a pressure thing," she said. "There are certainly points during the Games where I felt the weight of pressure and expectations. But, in general, when I was racing, it wasn't the case. "And it certainly wasn't more than I ever experienced in my career before. The pressure is there. It's always there. I don't feel uncomfortable or even unfamiliar with it. "Today, I felt I had a pretty calm, solid mentality. Nothing too crazy. Of course I wanted to win a medal. But before that I just wanted to take the opportunity to ski another run of slalom on this hill." Shiffrin, the biggest hope for the US alpine team, and one of the finest slalom skiers the sport has seen, said she would line up for the mixed team event on Saturday, her last chance to win a gold medal. "The whole shebang in sport is that you can have preparation, you can have confidence... You can have all these pieces and