US skier Mikaela Shiffrin failed to complete the slalom portion of the women’s combined event on the opening day of the World Championships on Monday.
Shiffrin crossed the third last gate, appearing close to beating Federica Brignone, the leader of the first run.
The American was trailing Brignon by 0.96 seconds after the super-G portion, but had made up 0.88 of that gap before skiing down.
Shiffrin apparently reacted with open-mouthed astonishment before leaning on his ski pole. She then went to Brigone and embraced the Italian skier.
The combined event combines the results of the super-G run and the slalom run.
Shiffrin was competing in her first major competition since failing to medal in six starts at last year’s Beijing Olympics.
His next race in the world is the super-G on Wednesday.
Shiffrin was the defending champion in the combined event. She has won six world titles from 13 previous starts at the world championships and 11 medals overall.