{"id":1775351,"date":"2026-02-17T05:53:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T02:53:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1775351"},"modified":"2026-02-17T05:53:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T02:53:13","slug":"olympics-chaos-carnage-and-heartbreak-in-bormio-atle-lie-mcgrath-storms-off-after-dnf-as-loic-meillard-claims-olympic-slalom-gold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1775351","title":{"rendered":"[OLYMPICS] Chaos, Carnage, and Heartbreak in Bormio: Atle Lie McGrath Storms Off After DNF as Loic Meillard Claims Olympic Slalom Gold"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Slalom podium at the 2026 Olympics: Loic Meillard (gold), Fabio Gstrein (silver), Henrik Kristoffersen (bronze). | Image: FIS Alpine<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Heartbreak defined the men\u2019s Olympic slalom in Bormio today, where more than half the field failed to finish and Norway\u2019s Atle Lie McGrath saw his gold-medal dream vanish in a single straddled gate on run 2. <\/strong>Gold went instead to Loic Meillard from Switzerland, silver to Fabio Gstrein, and bronze to Henrik Kristoffersen.<\/p>\n

Run 1<\/h3>\n

Heavy snowfall and flat light created treacherous conditions on a course that, on paper, wasn\u2019t overly demanding.<\/strong> The result? Carnage. Of the 96 starters, 50 recorded DNFs\u2014more than 50% of the field eliminated before the second run. Even the sport\u2019s elite weren\u2019t spared.<\/p>\n

McGrath carried a commanding 0.59-second lead from the first run over Switzerland\u2019s Lo\u00efc Meillard, with Austria\u2019s Fabio Gstrein sitting third, 0.94 seconds back.<\/strong> Only one other skier\u2014Norway\u2019s Timon Haugan\u2014was within a second of the leader after Run 1. By slalom standards, where hundredths typically separate podium spots, the gaps were enormous. By ninth place, the deficit had already ballooned past two seconds.<\/p>\n

Paco Rassat was the first top contender to end with a DNF, starting with bib 3.<\/strong> Brazil\u2019s Lucas Braathen, fresh off a Giant Slalom victory two days earlier, followed shortly after. Braathen had been leading the upper section before sliding out, ending his bid for a second medal. The list of high-profile DNFs kept growing: Sweden\u2019s Eduard Hallberg, Austria\u2019s Manuel Feller, Italy\u2019s Alex Vinatzer, Bulgaria\u2019s Albert Popov, and Team USA\u2019s River Radamus all failed to finish. By the end of Run 1, the total DNFs had hit 50.<\/p>\n

The Slalom podium at the 2026 Olympics: Loic Meillard (gold), Fabio Gstrein (silver), Henrik Kristoffersen (bronze). | Image: FIS Alpine<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Run 2<\/h3>\n

With improved weather and snowfall easing, the second run offered cleaner conditions.<\/strong> As is tradition, the top 30 skiers started in reverse order, but realistically only the top seven were still in medal contention given the massive time gaps.<\/p>\n

Norway\u2019s Henrik Kristoffersen, sitting sixth and 1.59 seconds back after Run 1, delivered a stunning charge.<\/strong> Posting the second-fastest second run of the day, he vaulted into podium position, eventually securing bronze\u2014his third Olympic medal.<\/p>\n

Gstrein then threw down the fastest second run of the race, launching himself into the lead with only two skiers remaining.<\/strong> It marked a remarkable redemption for the 28-year-old Austrian, who had previously been relegated from Austria\u2019s top national squad.<\/p>\n

Meillard followed and matched Gstrein\u2019s second-run time to the millisecond.<\/strong> Thanks to his 0.35-second cushion from Run 1, the Swiss skier moved into first by exactly that margin.<\/p>\n

All eyes then turned to the last starter, the fastest from run 1, Atle Lie McGrath. <\/strong>As last starter, the Norwegian carried the weight of expectation. But near the top section, on what appeared to be a manageable gate, he straddled\u2014an immediate DNF.<\/p>\n

Heartbreak summed up in a picture\u2014Atle Lie McGrath walking off the race course. | Image: Screenshot live coverage<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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In a raw display of emotion, McGrath hurled his ski poles over a nearby fence before skiing toward the far edge of the course, removing both skis, and trudging toward the forest.<\/strong> The stunned crowd and commentators looked on as he lay down in the snow, absorbing the collapse of his Olympic dream. It was a devastating scene\u2014and a reminder of the immense pressure these athletes shoulder on the sport\u2019s biggest stage. To make matters worse, McGrath\u2019s grandfather had died on the day of the opening ceremony. The weight of it all was just too much for this 25-year-old ski racer.<\/p>\n

The moment your Olympic dreams come crashing down\u2014Atle Lie McGrath taking a moment away from the crowds to process his emotions. | Image: Screenshot live coverage<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With McGrath out, Meillard claimed Olympic gold\u2014his third medal of these Games after bronze in Giant Slalom and silver in the team combined. <\/strong>For Haugan, who had been fourth after Run 1, the day brought more Norwegian heartbreak as he missed the podium by just 0.29 seconds.<\/p>\n

The men\u2019s slalom marked the final alpine race on the men\u2019s calendar.<\/strong> The Olympic alpine program concludes with the women\u2019s slalom on Wednesday, February 18.<\/p>\n

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The Slalom podium at the 2026 Olympics: Loic Meillard (gold), Fabio Gstrein (silver), Henrik Kristoffersen (bronze). | Image: FIS Alpine Heartbreak defined the men\u2019s Olympic slalom in Bormio today, where more than half the field failed to finish and Norway\u2019s Atle Lie McGrath saw his gold-medal dream vanish in a single straddled gate on run […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,267],"class_list":["post-1775351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-snowbrains-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1775351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1775351"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1775351\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1775351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1775351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1775351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}