U.S. alpine skiing star Mikaela Shiffrin falters again at the Beijing Olympics

U.S. alpine¹ skiing star Mikaela Shiffrin falters² again at the Beijing Olympics

Transcript³

For a second time, Mikaela Shiffrin did not finish a qualifying⁴ run. This time in her signature event: the women's slalom. This follows her fall in the giant slalom on Monday.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

For Mikaela Shiffrin, the Winter Olympics are off to a disappointing start. The U.S. Alpine skiing star, winner of three Olympic medals, considered one of the greatest in her sport, started two races and didn't make it through the first run of either of them. Today at the Beijing Games, Shiffrin skied off the slalom course just seconds after she began. The quick-turning slalom is her best event. She's won more slalom races than any World Cup skier⁵, woman or man, in history.

Earlier this morning, I talked to NPR sports correspondent⁶ Tom Goldman in Beijing.

TOM GOLDMAN, BYLINE⁷: Let me tell you first what happened, Rachel. She was the seventh racer to start the first of two slalom runs. And just five seconds in, her skis slipped on a turn. She couldn't recover. She skied off the course and then went over and sat down near protective netting on the side, put her head down. And she was there for many minutes while other racers skied by. It was a - kind of a painful image. Talking to reporters, she was both disappointed. She said, it's a letdown of everything - letting down myself, letting down other people. And she sounded a bit defiant⁸, too, saying, quote, "I didn't finish in the Olympics. Come on. That hurts. But in 24 hours, nobody is going to care. Well, maybe it will take a little longer," end quote. Now, she says she will try to reset⁹ and prepare for three more events. But she knows she missed the chance to win another medal in her two best races - slalom and giant slalom.

I want to add one thing here - a reminder¹⁰. She wasn't the only woman racing¹¹ today - and a tip of the ski helmet to Slovakia's Petra Vlhova, probably Shiffrin's main rival. They're the same age. And Vlhova has spent years finishing behind Shiffrin. Today she won a gold medal in the slalom.

MARTIN: So is Shiffrin saying why this happened, why she had these two flameouts?

GOLDMAN: You know, she's explaining it in skiing terms. With the slalom today, she said she wanted to take a really aggressive line, meaning more straight down the hill. And that left little room for correction if there was a bobble. And there was. And she couldn't recover. And so she skied off the course. Bigger reasons - you know, Rachel, here we get into the possible mental aspect - something very familiar after what happened to gymnast Simone Biles at the Summer Olympics last year. Shiffrin, like Biles and other Olympic stars, has talked about the pressure for those Olympians who were featured on magazine covers and talked about as medal contenders. Interestingly, she said pressure wasn't the big issue today. There were nerves. But she also said the - you know, she had the feeling she always has, that good skiing will be there for her.

MARTIN: There is some good news, though, today on the medal front for Team USA, right?

GOLDMAN: There is (laughter) good news - a first gold medal for the U.S. from the sport of snowboard cross. Now, over the last eight Winter Olympics, it's taken the U.S. on average 1.75 days - I did the math, Rachel - to win a first gold.

MARTIN: Yeah.

GOLDMAN: This time it took five days. And we were wondering whether this was reflective of some troubling shift in the world order.

(LAUGHTER)

GOLDMAN: And Lindsey Jacobellis restored order in the snowboard cross, where four snowboarders leave the gate at the same time, shoulder to shoulder. First one to the bottom wins. So congrats to her winning her first gold in her fifth Olympics. And at 36, she's the oldest American woman to win a Winter Olympics gold medal.

MARTIN: Ah, that's very cool. And all is well in the world.

GOLDMAN: (Laughter).

MARTIN: NPR's Tom Goldman in Beijing.

Thank you, Tom.

GOLDMAN: You're welcome.

1 alpine   

adj.高山的；n.高山植物

参考例句：

• Alpine flowers are abundant there.那里有很多高山地带的花。
• Its main attractions are alpine lakes and waterfalls .它以高山湖泊和瀑布群为主要特色。

2 falters   

（嗓音）颤抖( falter的第三人称单数 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃

参考例句：

• He never falters in his determination. 他的决心从不动摇。
• The plan never falters; the design never changes. It is all ordered. 大自然从不步履蹒跚，从不三心二意，一切都是有条不紊。

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 qualifying   

使具有资格的

参考例句：

• players who fail at the pre-qualifying stage 在预选赛中淘汰掉的选手
• A doctoral candidate is required to pass a qualifying examination. 考博士需通过一个资格考试。

5 skier   

n.滑雪运动员

参考例句：

• She is a skier who is unafraid of danger.她是一名敢于冒险的滑雪者。
• The skier skimmed across the snow.滑雪者飞快地滑过雪地。

6 correspondent   

n.记者，通信者；adj.符合的，一致的，相当的

参考例句：

• He volunteered as a correspondent for the war.他自愿担任作报道这次战争的记者。
• The result was correspondent with my wishes.结果与我的愿望是一致的。

7 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

8 defiant   

adj.无礼的，挑战的

参考例句：

• With a last defiant gesture,they sang a revolutionary song as they were led away to prison.他们被带走投入监狱时，仍以最后的反抗姿态唱起了一支革命歌曲。
• He assumed a defiant attitude toward his employer.他对雇主采取挑衅的态度。

9 reset   

v.重新安排，复位；n.重新放置；重放之物

参考例句：

• As soon as you arrive at your destination,step out of the aircraft and reset your wristwatch.你一到达目的地，就走出飞机并重新设置手表时间。
• He is recovering from an operation to reset his arm.他做了一个手臂复位手术，正在恢复。

10 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

11 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。