Mikaela Shiffrin Is 'Moving Forward' After She Struggled in First 2026 Winter Olympics Event and Missed Podium

NEED TO KNOW

• Mikaela Shiffrin reacted after her fourth-place finish
• Shiffrin and partner Breezy Johnson were expected to medal in the women's team combined event at the 2026 Winter Olympics
• Shiffrin said she is "moving forward" after the disappointing turn of events

Mikaela Shiffrin is looking ahead after her disappointing fourth-place finish in the women’s team combined event at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

The decorated skier, 30, told reporters after the event on Feb. 10 while she "felt okay," she realized her timing was off — but had no regrets competing with partner Breezy Johnson.

"It's hard to explain the feeling I get on the long skis. I was trying to reset every single part and bring more speed and it wasn't going in the right direction, but it was so tight," she explained. "You have to give your all in order to earn that. I had a couple bobbles but ultimately it's so exciting to be a part of this and it's so exciting to do this with Breezy."

She praised Johnson, 30, as having done "everything this morning," as the alpine skiing combined event features two athletes from the same nation doing two separate runs, a downhill and a slalom. Their scores are then combined for a final result.

"It's a pleasure to be here and a pleasure to be racing. Just got to keep moving forward and I'm so excited for Jackie [Wiles] and Paula [Moltzan]," Shiffrin said.

Wiles and Moltzan took home bronze medals in the event, a placement Shiffrin said was "so deserved."

"These are the moments you live for. Not every single athlete can have a spectacular moment every single day," she said. "You’re gonna win some, you're not going to be on the podium for some. But to be here and see our teammates on the podium. It's incredible to see Team USA winning a medal."

Johnson, 30, had put Shiffrin and herself in first place with her speedy downhill run, but Shiffrin couldn’t quite find her speed on her slalom run. The fact that the pair didn't crack the podium was a surprise, as they won the world title in the event at the 2025 FIS World Alpine Ski Championships last February, and were favorites to win gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Last year, Shiffrin opened up to PEOPLE about how an injury she sustained while racing had given her “intrusive thoughts” and symptoms of PTSD. Shiffrin crashed in November 2024 and suffered a puncture wound to her abdomen five centimeters deep.

"It's just been a process to recover from that physically, and mentally, more-so than I maybe expected," she said. "I was having a lot of actual PTSD symptoms."

In an interview with PEOPLE in January, Shiffrin credited her fiancé Aleksander Aamodt Kilde — an Olympic medalist skier himself — with helping her through “tough moments” leading up to the Games.

"It's being able to relate to each other and help each other through those tough moments,” she said. “He does that for me on a daily basis. It's pretty special."

Shiffrin’s partner Johnson is fresh off a gold medal win in the women’s downhill event — the same race where Lindsey Vonn crashed and fractured her tibia, requiring emergency surgery.

To learn more about all the Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls, come to people.com to check out ongoing coverage before, during and after the games. Watch the Milan Cortina Olympics and Paralympics, beginning Feb. 6, on NBC and Peacock.

Read the original article on People