Another delay on the slopes

Women’s slalom, with Mikaela Shiffrin, is postponed two days because of strong winds.

Mikaela Shiffrin’s debut at the Pyeongchang Olympics will have to wait at least another day, as high winds continued to throw the Alpine skiing schedule into disarray.

The slalom — where Shiffrin is the heavy favorite — was postponed Wednesday after four weather-related delays at the Yongpyong Alpine Center.

The event has been rescheduled for Friday.

“Everyone’s a little bummed out when a day like this happens,” U.S. women’s Alpine coach Paul Kristofic said. “But they do happen to us so we’re quite used to it.”

Temperatures were in the high 20s Wednesday — much warmer than previous days — but winds gusted at more than 20 mph at the base of the course.

Kristofic said winds were forecast to increase throughout the day, creating problems with visibility, safety and the fairness of the race.

Earlier this week, wind forced the postponement of the men’s downhill and women’s giant slalom. Only the men’s combined event — won by Austria’s Marcel Hirscher on Tuesday — has been contested in the 11-race Alpine schedule.

The wind is expected to decrease Thursday, when the women’s giant slalom, featuring Shiffrin, and men’s downhill are scheduled. Friday will also be busy, with the men’s super-G running in addition to the women’s slalom. —Nathan Fenno

Biney is out

The tears that welled up in the eyes of Maame Biney started to roll down her cheeks.

“I just have to wait four more years to be able to get back to this big stage, so I can’t wait until those four years,” she said, brushing aside a tear on the left side of her face.

There probably will be no gold for Biney in her first Olympics — or medal of any color. The always-smiling 18year-old short-track speedskater was eliminated from her signature race in the 500 meters in the quarterfinal round Tuesday night in Gangneung Ice Arena, finishing last in her four-woman heat.

Biney’s Olympics aren’t over. She will race in the 1,500 meters, but she isn’t expected to contend for a medal in that event.

The first African American woman to make a U.S. Olympic speedskating team, Biney failed to respond after the opposition managed to neutralize her greatest weapon — her quick start. Biney used an explosive start to dominate the U.S. Olympic trials, but was introduced to a new level of the sport here. Heading into the first turn, she was bumped by Sofia Prosvirnova of Russia, and Biney dropped to the back of the field.

Prosvirnova won the race in 43.466 seconds. Biney was a distant fourth in 44.772 seconds.

“I usually don’t get bumped in the start,” Biney said. “It was a big shock to me. I needed to figure out how to get my rhythm back, but I didn’t.”

In the final, Arianna Fontana of Italy claimed the gold medal, with Yara Van Kerkhof of the Netherlands getting silver and Kim Boutin of Canada the bronze. —Dylan Hernandez

A first on ice

Harley Windsor became the first indigenous Australian to compete at the Winter Olympics when the pairs skater joined teammate Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya for their short program.

Windsor and his Russianborn partner were among the first pairs on the ice, and their total of 61.55 points was just off their season best. But they finished 18th, not making the cut of the top 16 for Thursday’s free skate.