While Mikaela Shiffrin wins World Championship gold in the Team Combined, Lindsey Vonn can't keep up with her partner - and explains after her run what bothered her about Shiffrin's cancellation.
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- Lindsey Vonn would have loved to race the team combined at the World Championships in Saalbach with Mikaela Shiffrin. But that didn't happen.
- Shiffrin skied to gold with downhill world champion Breezy Johnson, while Vonn finished in 17th place with her partner AJ Hurt.
- After her run, Vonn talks about Shiffrin's withdrawal in an SRF interview and explains what disappointed her about it.
After a long back and forth, Mikaela Shiffrin announced on Monday that she would be competing in the team combined at the World Championships in Saalbach after all. Because the US-American skipped the giant slalom, the 29-year-old changed her mind at short notice - and promptly took the gold medal together with Breezy Johnson.
However, the fact that Shiffrin is competing with the newly crowned downhill world champion Johnson and not Lindsey Vonn is making waves in the run-up to the race. Vonn publicly flirted with a joint appearance before the World Championships and sought talks with the slalom ace.
Shortly after it was announced that Shiffrin and the American coaches had decided against competing with Vonn, the latter took to social media and wrote: "I'm not surprised by the decisions made, but at least it's now clear that it wasn't my decision."
"Breezy is the best partner for Mikaela"
Meanwhile, Vonn forms a duo with AJ Hurt on Tuesday, but is unable to create a good starting position for her compatriot in the downhill. The 40-year-old loses two and a half seconds on the best time - and a whopping two seconds on Shiffrin's partner Breezy Johnson.
"It's 100 percent clear that Breezy is the best partner for Mikaela. She deserved it, there was no discussion about it," Vonn clarifies in the SRF interview after her finish and explains: "I talked to Mikaela before the World Championships and it would have been a great story for the sport. 181 wins together."
The disappointing communication
However, Vonn is not primarily disappointed by the decision, but by the communication within the US team. "Nobody told me. I only found out via Instagram, so I was a bit disappointed. It's a bit unprofessional," says the 2010 Olympic downhill champion. "I didn't want to cause any drama. But I was disappointed that no one called me and sent me a text message."
It was only afterwards that those responsible contacted Vonn. "That was a bit too late. But that has nothing to do with Mikaela or Breezy. But communication is important in life," says Vonn, who ultimately finishes in 16th place with partner Hurt and states: "Communication has to be better. That's everything. Because this isn't my first race and I know how it works and how complicated everything is."
