[OLYMPICS] Chaos, Carnage, and Heartbreak in Bormio: Atle Lie McGrath Storms Off After DNF as Loic Meillard Claims Olympic Slalom Gold - SnowBrains

"OlympicsHeartbreak defined the men's Olympic slalom in Bormio today, where more than half the field failed to finish and Norway's Atle Lie McGrath saw his gold-medal dream vanish in a single straddled gate on run 2. Gold went instead to Loic Meillard from Switzerland, silver to Fabio Gstrein, and bronze to Henrik Kristoffersen. Heavy snowfall and flat light created treacherous conditions on a course that, on paper, wasn't overly demanding."

"The result? Carnage. Of the 96 starters, 50 recorded DNFs-more than 50% of the field eliminated before the second run. Even the sport's elite weren't spared. McGrath carried a commanding 0.59-second lead from the first run over Switzerland's Loïc Meillard, with Austria's Fabio Gstrein sitting third, 0.94 seconds back. Only one other skier-Norway's Timon Haugan-was within a second of the leader after Run 1."

Heavy snowfall and flat light made the Bormio slalom treacherous, producing 50 DNFs from 96 starters. Atle Lie McGrath led Run 1 by 0.59 seconds over Loic Meillard, with Fabio Gstrein third. Numerous top contenders, including Paco Rassat, Lucas Braathen, Eduard Hallberg, Manuel Feller, Alex Vinatzer, Albert Popov, and River Radamus, failed to finish Run 1. Run 2 saw improved conditions, but McGrath straddled a gate and crashed out, eliminating his gold chance. Loic Meillard won gold, Fabio Gstrein took silver, and Henrik Kristoffersen recovered to claim bronze.

Read at SnowBrains