BEIJING — The final obstacle between Mikaela Shiffrin and a medal was the plunging slalom course called the Ice River.
After two weeks of hype and heartbreak at the Winter Olympics, all the world's most dominant female skier needed was a clean run through the 63 gates to earn a spot on the podium in the combined.
But as the sun fought to break through snow flurries that dusted the Yanqing National Alpine Centre on Thursday, Shiffrin's inexplicable Olympics took another inexplicable turn in her fifth and final individual event.
