CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy, Feb 10 (Reuters) - It was heartbreak for Bella Wright on Tuesday when she missed a gate in the downhill leg of the women’s team combined, meaning her U.S. teammate Nina O’Brien could not start the later slalom leg — but the new-look Olympic event itself looks set to become a fixture of the Games.
For Wright, the sharpest sting of all was not her error itself, though, but the missed chance, in a largely individual sport, to share the start list - and possibly a podium - with a teammate.
“You don’t get to have a teammate often in this sport, and I was so looking forward to doing it with her,” she said.
“That’s my biggest bummer of today, just not being able to experience that with her. So I’m sorry, Nina.”
The new combined format — pairing downhillers and slalom specialists to give a single result — has been hailed as the revival of a discipline that struggled for an identity when both legs had to be raced by the same individual.
“We have exactly what we want, which is the best athletes, the best format and the best sport. So this is definitely here to stay,” said FIS president Johan Eliasch.
In its previous incarnation the Alpine combined, intended to crown the most versatile competitor, was not always pleasing to the eye.
“The problem we had with Alpine combined was that we had slalom skiers that looked like Bambi on ice in the downhill track, and the downhillers looked like they needed a compass to get through the slalom course,” Eliasch added.
“And very few could actually do both. So this is the opposite. We have the best of the best in the best possible format.”
While it puts pressure on both skiers because they have their teammate’s fate in their hands, newly crowned downhill Olympic champion Breezy Johnson looked breezy indeed as she handed American teammate Mikaela Shiffrin a slim advantage going into the slalom leg.
Johnson messaged her friend.
“I just said, ‘No pressure from me and go get ’em,’” she said.
“I already have my gold medal. I hope that she has fun and does her best. But if anything happens, I’m not going to be like, ‘Oh you ruined everything.’”
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
