American Johnson showed why she is the new Olympic downhill champion by finishing with a time of 1 minute 36.59 seconds, 0.06 seconds ahead of Ariane Raedler of Austria’s second team.
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It is a small advantage, but Johnson has been paired with Shiffrin, the most successful skier of all time who makes her debut at these Olympic Games in the slalom race, her specialized event, which begins at 13:00 GMT.
Shiffrin will be eager to hit the Olimpia delle Tofane track, hoping to banish the harsh memories of her disastrous last Olympics in Beijing, where she failed to win a single medal.
The 30-year-old has won a record 108 races on the World Cup circuit, including seven of this season’s eight slalom races, and the United States appears on track for more gold in Cortina d’Ampezzo.
Camille Rast, who is Shiffrin’s closest rival in the World Cup slalom standings, has a mountain to climb as her Switzerland 1 teammate and former Olympic downhill champion Corinne Suter finished 1.51 seconds behind Johnson.
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Italy’s top team will not be competing in the slalom race after Sofia Goggia lost control of her skis and went off the track, luckily she maintained enough control to not crash into the net.
Goggia’s mistake, who took bronze in the downhill, forced Lara Della Mea to cheer on her teammates from the finish line.
But Laura Pirovano did the host nation proud with a strong run that left Italy 2nd, 0.27 seconds behind the leading American pair.
The combined team is making its Olympic debut at the Milan-Cortina Games, with Switzerland’s Franjo von Allmen and Tanguy Nef winning the men’s event on Monday.
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It is made up of two riders from the same nation who compete in downhill and slalom, with the fastest overall time taking the gold medal.
Countries can enter multiple teams in the event, and the women’s skiing powerhouses (USA, Switzerland, Italy and Austria) each had four pairs entered on Tuesday.
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