CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy — Slalom star Mikaela Shiffrin is set to make her 2026 Olympic debut on Tuesday in the women's Alpine team combined event in Cortina.
The event pairs two skiers — one racing the downhill, the second racing the slalom — as a way to marry the two sides of competitive Alpine skiing, speed and technical.
Shiffrin, 30, is the world's top slalom skier. This winter, she has won seven of eight World Cup slalom races (and placed second in the other), bringing her career World Cup win total to 108, the most of any skier all time, man or woman.
Shiffrin will race Tuesday alongside Breezy Johnson, the 30-year-old skier who won the Olympic downhill race on Sunday. The pair won the team combined event at last year's World Championships in Hinterglemm, Austria, the first time the event was held at a major international skiing competition.
The team format has replaced the traditional individual combined event, as the speed and technical disciplines in skiing have diverged to the point where it has become rare for skiers to race in both. Tuesday's race is the Olympic debut of the new format.
The U.S. women's Alpine team is so strong that the Americans will field three other teams in addition to Shiffrin and Johnson. The second team of downhill skier Jackie Wiles, who finished fourth in Sunday's individual race, and slalom skier Paula Moltzan, who is currently sixth in the World Cup slalom standings, should also contend for a medal.
Downhiller Bella Wright will ski with slalom skier Nina O'Brien, and the fourth team will feature Keely Cashman in downhill and A.J. Hurt in slalom.
Copyright 2026 NPR
