HK skier Audrey King slides out of Olympics with DNF

Hong Kong alpine skier Audrey King gave it her all but failed to finish her slalom run in her maiden Olympics on Wednesday.

A tearful King, 19, told TVB afterwards that her main target was to finish her run in the women’s slalom event at the Yanqing National Alpine Skiing Centre on Wednesday morning, but registered a DNF (Did Not Finish).

“I think in the moment that it was the best that I could give,” she said.

This marks the end of the young skier’s maiden Olympics – capping a tumultuous trip marked by a positive Covid-19 test for which she was temporarily quarantined.

King wasn’t the only skier bested by a tough slope: she was one of 30 who registered a DNF.

Even one of the big favourites for the event – double Olympic gold medallist Mikaela Shiffrin – suffered a shock exit, managing just a handful of gates before skiing out.

This came after a similar performance in the giant slalom.

“I feel a lot of disappointment. My performance is a huge letdown so far,” Shiffrin said. “Today I wish there had been a little more space and more time.”

Shiffrin went into the slalom – the shortest technical event on the programme – as a four-time world slalom champion and gold medallist at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. (Additional reporting by AFP)