The women’s super-G – the third women’s alpine skiing event of the 2022 Winter Olympics – was highlighted by Mikaela Shiffrin returning to the start house after she skied out of her first two events. Shiffrin attacked the course, finishing ninth overall, and said after that the race that she feels much more optimistic heading into the final events of these 2022 Beijing Winter Games.
The final podium included Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami – who claimed the first Olympic gold medal of her career – silver medalist Mirjam Puchner (Austria), and bronze medalist Michelle Gisin (Switzerland).
See below for a preview of the women’s super-G, plus live updates On Her Turf provided as the race unfolded. A full recap of the women’s super-G can be found here.
Women’s Super-G Live Updates:
10:08pm ET: Defending Olympic champion Ester Ledecka, wearing bib number 2, skied into first place. She was quickly surpassed by Austria’s Mirjam Puchner and Michelle Gisin.
10:11pm ET: After a strong run from Austrian Tamara Tippler, Ledecka was pushed off the podium. Puchner is currently in gold-medal position, while Gisin is in second.
10:15pm ET: Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami (skiing with bib number 7) skied into first place. Gut-Behrami is the reigning world champion in this event. Four years ago in PyeongChang, she was in bronze-medal position when Ester Ledecka skied into gold-medal position, bumping Gut-Behrami from the podium.
10:17pm ET: Federica Brignone, who already owns one medal from these 2022 Beijing Winter Games, skied into sixth. Fun fact about Brignone: her mother, Maria Rosa Quario, is a two-time Olympian in alpine skiing (1980, 1984). Since retiring, Quario has attended every Olympics as a journalist, but wasn’t able to make the trip to Beijing.
10:25pm ET: Mikaela Shiffrin, leading at the first checkpoint, skied into eighth following a couple of bobbles on the slope. Still, Shiffrin skied aggressively in an event in which she has less experience, which is a great sign for the three-time Olympic medalist heading into the downhill and combined later at these Winter Olympics. Shiffrin has also said she is hoping to compete in the team event, which she has rarely ever entered before.
10:29pm ET: Elena Curtoni, one of the favorites entering Beijing, skis into ninth. Podium currently stands as Lara Gut-Behrami, Mirjam Puchner, Michelle Gisin… but they can’t relax yet.
10:35pm ET: Switzerland’s Corinne Suter skied into 11th, a surprising result. No one has surpassed Shiffrin since she finished eighth. The podium is starting to look more secure… Potential spoilers include Norway’s Ragnhild Mowinckel (bib 17), Italy’s Marta Bassino (bib 19), and maybe even American Isabella “Bella” Wright (bib 21).
10:37pm ET: Alice Robinson, a 19-year-old from New Zealand crashes out, but is able to ski down on her own.
10:43pm ET: Ragnhild Mowinckel, a two-time Olympic silver medalist at the PyeongChang games, skied into sixth.
10:50pm ET: Switzerland’s Jasmine Flury, wearing bib 20, skis into 12th. Because the top skiers in the world compete in the top-20, it is unlikely – but not impossible! – that the podium of Lara Gut-Behrami, Mirjam Puchner, Michelle Gisin will change… But it’s not over yet. Four years ago in PyeongChang, Ledecka won a shocking gold medal wearing bib number 26.
10:54pm ET: American Isabella “Bella” Wright makes her Olympic debut just two months after a nasty crash. The 25-year-old from Park City, Utah, skied into 19th. “First race in a while,” she said in the finish area while making a heart with her hands.
11:00pm ET: In the finish area, Mikaela Shiffrin tells NBC Olympics reporter Todd Lewis that she feels much more optimistic after her solid super-G run. “I proved to myself that I can still trust my instincts a bit,” she said.
As for the outpouring of support she has received since skiing out of both the giant slalom and slalom, Shiffrin said. “I would never have expected that humans could be so kind… How kind people could be in the face of my failure.”
Video of Mikaela Shiffrin’s interview with Todd Lewis:
Mikaela Shiffrin reacts to all the love and support she has received over the last few days. pic.twitter.com/229J2tG0QY
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) February 11, 2022
Looking ahead, Shiffrin said she plans to do the downhill training runs before making the decision to compete in the event. (The downhill is the only alpine skiing discipline that has training runs; in every other event, skiers are allowed to expect the course, but not ski it.)
11:07pm ET: It’s less and less likely anyone will overtake Lara Gut-Behrami to win gold. While Gut-Behrami is one of the greatest alpine skiers of the generation – she owns one overall World Cup title and three super-G discipline titles – this will be her first Olympic gold medal. She also is the first Swiss skier (of any gender) to win super-G gold.
At the 2014 Sochi Games, Gut-Behrami won bronze in downhill, sharing the podium with co-gold medalists Tina Maze and Dominique Gisin (older sister of current bronze medalist Michelle). One year removed from a major knee injury, she struggled at the 2018 Winter Olympics, DNF’ing in two events and finishing fourth in super-G after Ledecka’s surprise win.
11:31pm ET: Only eight competitors remaining and the podium hasn’t changed.
11:34pm ET: Sarah Schleper is on course! Schleper, a dual U.S.-Mexico citizen, competed for Team USA at four Olympics: beginning in Nagano in 1998 and concluding at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games. She initially retired in 2011 before returning to the sport – this time competing for Mexico. Schleper became a citizen of Mexico after marrying her husband, Federico Gaxiola, in 2007. By competing in Beijing, Schleper becomes the first female alpine skier to compete at six Olympics. The mother-of-two (son Lasse, daughter Resi) skied into 35th.
11:40pm ET: The final skier – Ireland’s Tess Arbez – has crossed the finish line and it’s official: Lara Gut-Behrami claims super-G gold, Mirjam Puchner takes the silver, Michelle Gisin the bronze. Shiffrin places ninth, a promising result for the three-time Olympic medalist ahead of the final events of these 2022 Winter Olympics.
11:41pm ET: Time to switch over to the USA-CZE women’s hockey quarterfinal… It’s currently airing live on USA Network, or you can watch on Peacock or NBCOlympics.com. Tied 0-0 after one period.
What is the super-G?
Super-g stands for “super giant slalom.” The event combines the speed of downhill with the precision of giant slalom. One run determines the winner.
How to watch the women’s super-G:
| Event | Date/Time (U.S. Eastern) | Date/Time (Beijing, China) | How to Watch | |
| Alpine Skiing | Women’s Super-G | 2/10/22 10:00 PM | 2/11/22 11:00 AM | NBC | Peacock | NBCOlympics.com |
Who are the super-G medal favorites at the 2022 Winter Olympics?
After skiing out of her first two events (giant slalom and slalom), Mikaela Shiffrin is slated to compete in super-G tonight (bib #11). Beijing will mark her first time competing the event at the Winter Olympics. She has won a medal in the event at the last two world championships (gold in 2019, bronze in 2021), but she isn’t necessarily a favorite for Beijing, especially after failing to finish her first two events.
ALSO FROM ON HER TURF: Mikaela Shiffrin: One Olympics doesn’t define a career
The Czech Republic’s Ester Ledecka enters as the defending Olympic champion after an improbable 2018 gold medal. Ledecka, who competes in both alpine skiing and snowboarding, already owns one medal from these Beijing Winter Games: on Tuesday, she won her second straight gold medal in snowboarding’s parallel giant slalom event. After that win, Ledecka joked that the move between villages was more daunting than competing in two sports. (The 2022 Winter Olympics are split between three zones; Ledecka was based out of Zhangjiakou zone during the snowboarding competition, but alpine skiing is being contested in the Yanqing zone.)
“The hardest part is to take all the stuff and take it to the other village,” she said. “I’m very messy and I have stuff everywhere.”
Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami is the reigning super-G world champion and should be in the mix to win her first ever Olympic gold. Earlier this week, the 30-year-old claimed her second career Olympic medal – a bronze – in the women’s giant slalom.
Other top contenders include Italy’s Federica Brignone and Elena Curtoni, Austria’s Tamara Tippler and Mirjam Puchner, and Switzerland’s Corinne Suter. (Full start list is below.)
It’s also possible there could be another surprise winner, like 2018. In alpine skiing’s speed events (which includes super-G) it is rare for less-established skiers to have success on the World Cup circuit, given that veterans gain experience competing at the same venues year-after-year. But every top skier in today’s super-G field will be competing on this slope for the first time in their career.
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Women’s Super-G – Beijing Olympic Course Stats:
- Course Name: Rock
- Vertical Drop: 540 meters
- Course Length: 1984 meters
- Course Setter: Florian Scheiber
2022 Winter Olympics: Women’s Super-G – Start Order:
2 – CZE – Ester LEDECKA
3 – AUT – Mirjam PUCHNER
4 – SUI – Michelle GISIN
5 – AUT – Tamara TIPPLER
6 – FRA – Tessa WORLEY
7 – SUI – Lara GUT-BEHRAMI
8 – AUT – Cornelia HUETTER
9 – ITA – Federica BRIGNONE
10 – FRA – Laura GAUCHE
11 – USA – Mikaela SHIFFRIN
12 – FRA – Romane MIRADOLI
13 – ITA – Elena CURTONI
14 – CAN – Marie-Michele GAGNON
15 – SUI – Corinne SUTER
16 – NZL – Alice ROBINSON
17 – NOR – Ragnhild MOWINCKEL
18 – ITA – Francesca MARSAGLIA
19 – ITA – Marta BASSINO
20 – SUI – Jasmine FLURY
21 – USA – Isabella WRIGHT
22 – ROC – Julia PLESHKOVA
23 – POL – Maryna GASIENICA-DANIEL
24 – CAN – Roni REMME
25 – BIH – Elvedina MUZAFERIJA
26 – GER – Kira WEIDLE
27 – SLO – SAIONI FERK
28 – USA – Alix WILKINSON
29 – FRA – Tiffany GAUTHIER
30 – USA – Keely CASHMAN
31 – CZE – Tereza NOVA
32 – AND – Cande MORENO
33 – CZE – Barbora NOVAKOVA
34 – AUS – Greta SMALL
35 – CHN – Yueming NI
36 – ISR – Noa SZOLLOS
37 – SVK – Rebeka JANCOVA
38 – ARG – FARRIOL BARUZZI
39 – ISL – Holmfridur FRIDGEIRSDOTTIR
40 – MEX – Sarah SCHLEPER
41 – SVK – Petra HROMCOVA
42 – CHN – Fanying KONG
43 – UKR – Anastasiia SHEPILENKO
44 – IRL – Tess ARBEZ
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