Mikaela Shiffrin completes super-G race after consecutive DNFs, acknowledges opening events as a 'failure'

The start of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games have not been kind to the United States' star alpine skier, Mikaela Shiffrin.

Crashing out of the giant slalom and the slalom — the first time in her career that she has failed to finish consecutive races — Shiffrin was left questioning all that she had known about the sport in which she has achieved so much success. 

So doubtful was she about herself that the 26-year-old was seriously thinking about pulling out of today's super-G race on safety grounds.

However, Shiffrin appears to have re-found her rhythm and, more importantly, her faith in her undoubted abilities.

A ninth-place finish might not be commensurate with a 73-time World Cup winner of Shiffrin's calibre, but this was about more than finishing in the medals.

It was about finishing full stop and using that time on the snow to rediscover her competitive edge.

«It felt really nice to ski that today,» she said, having finished 0.79 seconds behind Swiss winner, Lara Gut-Behrami.

«The track itself is beautiful, and it's sunny, and the snow is amazing. Coming back out and getting the chance to race again was just the perfect thing to do, actually.»

Shiffrin, a self-described skiing obsessive, said that she was «at a loss» after the double disappointment of the slalom and giant slalom and that she simply didn't know how to handle it.

She even said that failing to finish the giant slalom was something she would «never get over». 

The impact of those DNFs saw the 26-year-old question whether or not it was even safe for her to race today, such was her mental state.

«The track itself is not something crazy challenging. It's just, after the last week, there's been a lot of emotional fatigue,» she said.

«I feel emotionally weary right now.