Alpine skiing-Shiffrin to partner Johnson after pulling out of giant slalom at world championships

FILE PHOTO: Alpine Skiing - FIS Alpine Ski World Cup - Women's Slalom - Courchevel, France - January 30, 2025 Mikaela Shiffrin of the U.S. in action during the first run REUTERS/Christian Hartmann/File Photo

(Reuters) -American ski great Mikaela Shiffrin will partner newly-crowned downhill champion Breezy Johnson in the women's team combined at the Alpine world championships in Austria after deciding on Monday she was not mentally ready for the giant slalom.

Shiffrin, who has a world championship medal haul of 14 which includes a record seven golds, returned to racing at the end of January two months after a ski crash during a giant slalom race left her with a puncture wound in her abdomen.