BEIJING, China — Oregon alpine skiers Luke Winters and Tommy Ford had one more chance to go for the gold at the Winter Olympics on Saturday, but Team USA ultimately fell just short of a bronze in the mixed team event.
Winters and Ford competed alongside American teammates Mikaela Shiffrin, Paula Moltzan, A.J. Hurt and River Radamus.
The U.S. team defeated Slovakia in the initial round on Saturday and outraced Italy in the quarterfinals, but fell to Germany in the semifinal round.
Germany and fellow semifinal winner Austria faced off in the big final, while Team USA and Norway competed for bronze in the small final, with Norway prevailing by 0.42 seconds in a tiebreaker.
Team USA was originally scheduled to compete on Friday, but the event was pushed back due to strong winds.
Both Winters, of Gresham, and Ford, of Bend, hit the slopes in men's giant slalom last weekend. Winters did not advance to the second run. Ford placed 19th after his run and met the top 30 threshold to qualify for the second and final run. He missed the podium and finished 12th in the final.
Winters was also the only American to take part in men's slalom. He skied out in the first run.
WHAT IS THE ALPINE SKIING MIXED TEAM EVENT?
The event pits teams of four, two men and two women, against each other in a series of side-by-side slalom races. Each team member races someone of the opposite team of the same gender down identical courses. The athlete that finishes first wins a point for their team. The team that wins the most points after all four races advances to the next round.
The competition begins with a round of 16 races in an elimination format until there are four semifinalists. The semifinal winners race for the gold medal.