Mikaela Shiffrin was fastest in a downhill training session ahead of Thursday’s (Wednesday night in the U.S.) Alpine combined race at the Beijing Olympics.
The American skier finished 0.93 seconds ahead of Wendy Holdener of Switzerland and 0.94 ahead of Ester Ledecka, who is attempting to win a second event at a second straight Olympics after successfully defending her gold in snowboarding’s parallel giant slalom.
Shiffrin was second in the combined at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics and won the event at the world championships last year.
Defending Olympic champion Michelle Gisin was a second slower than Shiffrin.
The 26-year-old Shiffrin is still seeking her first medal at the Beijing Games. The two-time Olympic champion didn’t finish the giant slalom or the slalom, was ninth in the super-G and 18th in Monday’s downhill.
Only 14 skiers trained on Wednesday, with 12 of those listed on the start list opting out.
Travis Pittman contributed to this report.