U.S. skier Mikaela Shiffrin pulls out of women's downhill

Feb. 19 (UPI) -- American skiing star Mikaela Shiffrin will not compete in the women's downhill event at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Shiffrin made the decision on Monday night. She won a gold medal in her first event on Valentine's Day in Pyeongchang, South Korea, winning the giant slalom. The defending slalom champion placed fourth in that event on Thursday.

Shiffrin will not compete in her third and fourth events, according to the U.S. Ski Team. She completed downhill training on Sunday and told NBC that she wanted to race. She also pulled out of the super-G, a day after her fourth-place finish.

"Due to weather, the alpine combined has been moved up a day to Thursday," the U.S. Ski Team tweeted Monday. "So, that means that @mikaelashiffrin will skip Wednesday's downhill and focus solely on the combined. #olympics."

The 22-year-old is expected to compete in the super combined on Thursday, but is not expected to participate in Friday's team event.

"As much as I wanted to compete in the Olympic downhill, with the schedule change it's important for me to focus my energy on preparing for the combined," Shiffrin said, according to the U.S. Ski Team.

"I'm looking forward to cheering on our girls racing in the downhill and to compete in Thursday's combined."

Team USA skiers Lindsey Vonn and Alice McKennnis are expected to enter the women's downhill event.