Winter Olympics: Mikaela Shiffrin ends Beijing campaign without a medal as Austria win mixed team parallel event
- Two-time gold medallist finds form in the quarter-finals but the USA were beaten for the bronze medal by Norway
- It was the last chance for Shiffrin to win a medal after she was unable to perform to her best in the individual events
American ski star Mikaela Shiffrin will leave the Beijing Olympics without a medal, but Johannes Strolz won his third as Austria beat Germany in the mixed team parallel final on Sunday in Yanqing.
Strolz, winner of the men’s alpine combined and silver medallist in the slalom, was part of a winning Austrian quartet that also included Katharina Liensberger, Katharina Truppe and Stefan Brennsteiner.
It caps a remarkable comeback for Strolz, who went back to traffic police duties and even trained with the German team after a string of poor results on the World Cup circuit saw him axed from the Austrian team.
The team event had been the last opportunity for two-time Olympic gold medallist Shiffrin to win a medal in Beijing after she misfired in the individual events over two weeks in Yanqing, skiing out of three races and finishing out of the medals in two others.
But it was not to be for one of winter sports’ most recognisable figures as her US team were beaten to bronze by Norway.
Her performances in the individual events, Shiffrin said, had left her feeling “like a joke”. The programme-ending team event, delayed by a day because of high winds, had offered a last crumb of potential comfort.