Nina O'Brien, Paula Moltzan Advance to Second Giant Slalom Run

O'Brien sits in sixth place, while Motlzan is in 17th

Nina O’Brien of the United States competes during the women’s giant slalom at the FIS World Ski Championships in Italy on Feb. 18, 2021.
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Mikaela Shiffrin won't be repeating as Olympic giant slalom champion, but the United States could still have a medalist or two in the event.

Nina O'Brien and Paula Moltzan each finished inside the top 30 of the first giant slalom run on Sunday night and advanced to the second and final one.

O'Brien, who is making her Olympic debut, sits in sixth place after finishing her run in 58.81seconds, which is 1.25 seconds behind first place and 0.83 seconds behind third.

Moltzan, also making her Olympic debut, recorded a 17th-place time of 59.57, which is 1.59 seconds out of a medal position.

Sweden's Sara Hector (57.56 seconds), Austria's Katharina Truppe (57.86) and Italy's Federica Brignone (57.98) posted the three best times.

In giant slalom, the times of the first and second run are combined, with the fastest skier being the winner. While all skiers who finished their first run will get a second run, the podium is considered all but determined after the top 30 race a second time.

Shiffrin, the defending Olympic champion, had a stunning early exit in the event after she missed a gate and fell.

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Shiffrin and fellow American AJ Hurt were two of 19 skiers who failed to finish their run.

The second giant slalom run takes place on Monday morning at 1:30 a.m. ET. You can watch it live on NBC or stream it on Peacock and NBCOlympics.com.

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