The notorious fourth gate at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre has once again proved a formidable obstacle during Tuesday’s Olympic women’s combined event. American skier Bella Wright saw her run come to an abrupt end at the same spot where teammate Lindsey Vonn suffered a horrific crash days earlier.
Wright, aiming for a more aggressive line than her 21st-place downhill finish, pushed closer to the gate on the technically demanding upper section of the 2,572-metre course. This decision led to a momentary loss of balance in the air. While she avoided a crash, Wright could not recover in time, veering offline and skiing left of the subsequent gate.
“I just skied it with a little more ‘oomph’ and really tried to create some speed out of it, which I did,” Wright explained. “But therefore my line was just too straight and I missed that next gate.” She added, “My [line] was within a foot [of the gate]. It just happened so fast [but] that’s ski racing. So definitely bummed.”
Vonn, who suffered a potentially career-ending broken leg after clipping the gate with her right arm, later posted on Instagram that she was “5 inches too tight” in her pursuit of a second Olympic gold. However, fellow American Breezy Johnson successfully navigated the challenging section, steering well clear of the gate and laying down the fastest time of the session, giving teammate Mikaela Shiffrin a crucial lead.
Johnson described the area around gate four as “really bumpy”, a sentiment informed by personal experience. Five years ago, during the 2021 world championships, she briefly lost control in the same spot, costing her a shot at a medal. “It’s kind of a weird spot,” Johnson remarked. “Sometimes you can be in what you think is the right place, but if you hit a bump wrong it just rocks your world.”
