• Mikaela Shiffrin won the Olympic slalom gold medal, finishing 1.50 seconds ahead of the silver medalist.
• The victory gives Shiffrin her third Olympic gold, tying her for the second-most by a U.S. Winter Olympian.
• Her four total Olympic medals tie her for the most by a U.S. woman in Alpine skiing.

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Mikaela Shiffrin didn’t need this Olympic gold medal.

Her legacy was secured long ago, between her other two Olympic golds, her World Cup wins record and all the other superlatives she’s achieved. But that’s never been good enough for the peanut gallery, which tunes in every four years and doesn’t understand why Shiffrin can’t just conjure gold medals out of snow.

Ski racing is hard. Really, really hard. Get a couple of inches off your line and you’re toast. Or worse. Get a course or a hill that doesn’t suit your style and it’s just not going to be your day.

But the Winter Olympics is the only measuring stick for some folks and, in their minds, Shiffrin hasn’t measured up.

Maybe now they’ll finally get off her back.

“The irony is I’ve cared so much about wanting everybody to know the reality and to not want to answer those questions and to be so sick and tired of it. And I’ve felt that way since (being) fourth in South Korea in the slalom,” Shiffrin said.

“In order to do this today, I kind of needed to accept the possibility that those questions would keep coming,” she said. “It was like, just don’t resist it. Just live in my own moment.”

And that moment? My God, was it magnificent.

Shiffrin obliterated the field in winning the Olympic slalom on Wednesday, Feb. 18, finishing a whopping 1.50 seconds ahead. Silver medalist Camille Rast was closer to 12th-place finisher Laurence St-Germain than she was Shiffrin.

With three gold medals, Shiffrin is now tied with snowboarder Shaun White and bobsledder Kaillie Humphries for second-most by a U.S. Winter Olympian. (Speedskaters Bonnie Blair and Eric Heiden have five each.) Her four total medals tie her with Julia Mancuso for most medals in Alpine skiing by a U.S. woman. Only Norway’s Kjetil Andre Aamodt and Croatia’s Janica Kostelic have more gold medals, with four.

When Shiffrin crossed the finish line, she looked at the scoreboard for several long seconds — “I never seem to be able to read the scoreboard” — before reality hit. About what she’d done, what it took to get here, and all the people — here and beyond — who’ve played a part in it.

She cried as she hugged her mother Eileen, who is also one of her coaches. She paused to gather herself and then kissed her hand and touched the snow, a tribute to her late father, before climbing onto the medals podium.

“These moments, we do build them up for sure. I think everybody builds it up and I’m building it up for myself, too,” she said. “Like I said, the biggest task today was to simplify and focus on the skiing.”

Shiffrin’s career, at the Olympics and everywhere else, is the kind of dominance that inspires people to hang banners, build statues and name their children and pets after. Yet rather than appreciating what she’s done, she’s always been held to an impossible standard.

You won a gold medal in the giant slalom at the Pyeongchang Games? Great, but what about that fourth-place finish in the slalom? The Beijing Olympics were Bizarro World because of the COVID restrictions and it was the first Games since the unexpected death of your dad, who was so central to you as both a person and a ski racer, but what’s wrong with you that you couldn’t win a single medal?

And when Shiffrin struggled in the slalom portion of the team combined, her 15th-place finish dropping her and Breezy Johnson from first to fourth, it was here we go again.

“I knew after the team combined that there would be some stories out there that would be really frustrating to look at,” Shiffrin said.

The truth is, Shiffrin never had an “Olympic problem.” She had ski races that didn’t go her way. Which is no different than what happens every season.

No different than the Olympic experience of pretty much every other skiing great, by the way. Marcel Hirscher, whose eight overall World Cup titles are the most of any skier? Has three Olympic medals, two of them gold. Same for Ingemar Stenmark, whose World Cup wins record Shiffrin broke.

“The reality of our sport is you lose a lot more than you win,” Shiffrin said. “When you look back on my career, I know statistics and everything, but still I’ve definitely lost a lot more than I’ve won. So that’s the one thing that’s certain is that you’re not going to win everything.”

But most people don’t see, or care, about that. So Shiffrin’s “reality” blew up into something it wasn’t.

“This whole season, every single slalom race, I’m like, ‘Oh God, I am really just digging myself into a hole here,’” Shiffrin said of her success this year in the World Cup, where she’s won seven of the eight slalom races and finished second in the other.

“The one thing that’s certain is that that wave’s going to stop,” she added. “You don’t get to ride that wave forever.”

Shiffrin has ridden it longer, and better, than most, however.

It’s about time she gets the recognition, and appreciation she deserves. She’s more than earned it.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.

PHOENIX — Bruce Meyer, the tenacious veteran litigator who has been the Major League Baseball Player Association’s lead negotiator, was voted unanimously Wednesday by the players to be their interim executive director, replacing Tony Clark.

Meyer, who was promoted to be the union’s deputy executive director in 2022, has been MLB’s public enemy since he joined the union in 2018. He frequently has clashed on even small agenda items with MLB, which has accused him of being bad for baseball.

Meyer, 64, is considered the union’s most fierce litigator since the days of Don Fehr and Gene Orza, and once again Wednesday expressed his deep resentment towards MLB’s hopes for a salary cap, believing that a lockout Dec. 1 is inevitable when the collective bargaining agreement expires.

“A lockout is all but guaranteed at the end of the agreement,’’ Meyer said Wednesday afternoon after meeting with the Chicago Cubs, and spending the morning with the Kansas City Royals. “The league has pretty much said that. Their strategy in bargaining has always been to put as much pressure on players as they can to try and create divisions and cracks among our membership.

“It never worked. I don’t think it will ever work.’’

Meyer, who said he will continue to be the lead negotiator, said that he and his staff have a duty to the players to listen to whatever MLB offers, but showed his disdain towards even entertaining a salary cap.

“Our position and the historic position of this union for decades on the salary cap is well known,’’ Meyer said. “It’s the ultimate restriction. It is something that owners in all the sports have wanted more than anything, and in baseball in particular. There’s a reason for that, because it’s good for them and not the players.’’

Meyer, even with the sudden resignation of Clark over an inappropriate relationship with a union employee, insisted Wednesday morning there is no disarray among the union ranks, and its resolve remains strong.

“I think anybody who’s going to assume that and act on that,’’ Meyer said, “is really making a mistake. I’m not going to say (the timing of Clark’s resignation) is a great thing. This is unforeseen. There have been some issues hanging over (him), and in some respects, it’s good to get them out of the way sooner rather than later.’’

Who is Bruce Meyer?

Meyer, while respected for his fierceness, does have his detractors. There was an attempt to remove him from the office two years ago, an effort led by attorney Harry Marino, who organized the efforts to have minor leaguers unionized. It failed when Clark came to Meyer’s defense.

The eight-person executive subcommittee pushed for Meyer to be voted as the executive director in their meeting Tuesday, but after pushback by at least three players on the call, no vote was taken. The larger group of 72 players, including player representatives from all 30 teams, decided to reconvene at 7 p.m. ET Wednesday after polling their own teammates. If Meyer didn’t receive enough support, they likely would have turned to Matt Nussbaum, the union’s general counsel who was promoted to interim deputy executive director, Meyer’s previous title.

Now, Meyer, who previously worked as a senior adviser at the NHL players union and was a partner at the law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges, will be running the whole show, much to MLB’s fear.

When the 99-day lockout ended in 2022, and the rank-and-file voted to accept MLB’s last proposal, Meyer sympathized with the executive council who wanted to continue negotiations, even if it meant losing games.

“Some players emerged from bargaining disappointed that we did not accomplish more,’’ Meyer said in a letter to players two years ago, “and in particular that we did not miss games to see if more gains could be made. To be clear, I sympathized and still do with these players and this position.’’

Meyer, who becomes the seventh executive director of the union, expects negotiations with MLB to begin in April on the next CBA, and just like the last round, tranquility will not be on anyone’s bingo card.

“I’d say I’m known as a tough litigator who also knows how to make deals when necessary,’’ Meyer said in a Q&A with the MLBPA newsletter. “In the sports area I’ve been involved in just about every type of issue, including labor, antitrust, licensing, collective bargaining and others. But the common thread is I have a passion for player advocacy and defending player rights.’’

Let the negotiations, with plenty of rancor, begin.

Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale

The former Steelers safety was a two-time Pro Bowl selection and a member of all four Super Bowl-winning teams during the 1970s. He was a key member of the notorious Steel Curtain defense and a staple of one of the NFL’s greatest dynasties.

Wagner was drafted in the 11th round of the 1971 NFL Draft from Western Illinois. As a rookie, he started in 12 games and recorded two interceptions. Unfortunately, an injury to his neck in 1977 limited him to just three games that season. However, he returned in 1978, starting 14 games and recording two interceptions during the regular season, helping the Steelers win their third Super Bowl.

In 1979, he played in eight games and, although he didn’t play in the Super Bowl due to injuries, earned his fourth ring of the decade with the franchise.

In a statement, Steelers president Art Rooney II emphasized Wagner’s career accomplishments and honors with the Steelers.

‘We are deeply saddened by the passing of Mike Wagner, a tremendous player and an integral part of some of the most successful teams in Pittsburgh Steelers history,’ Rooney II said.

‘Mike played a key role on our championship teams of the 1970s. As a member of four Super Bowl-winning teams, his toughness and consistency were paramount to our secondary. His contributions on the field were significant, but it was also his steady presence and team-first mentality that truly defined him.

‘On behalf of the entire Pittsburgh Steelers organization, we extend our heartfelt condolences to Mike’s family. He will always be remembered as a champion, a great teammate, and a proud member of the Steelers family.’

Wagner finished his career with 36 interceptions, including an NFL-high eight in 1973.

During his 10-year career from 1971 to 1980, Wagner played in 119 games with 116 starts. He recorded 12 fumble recoveries and his 36 interceptions rank sixth all-time in franchise history.

The USA’s 5-0 win against rival Canada in the preliminary round was an anomaly in the history of Olympics women’s hockey.

The USA and Canada will meet on Thursday, Feb. 19, in the gold medal game (1:10 p.m. ET on USA/Peacock) and all of their previous six meetings in championship games have been close. In fact, the last three and four of the six have been 3-2 scores.

Canada’s Marie-Philip Poulin and the USA’s Hilary Knight are likely to play key roles, not surprising considering Poulin is now the leading Olympic goal scorer and Knight has tied the U.S. Olympic record for goals and points.

In 2014, the USA held a 2-0 lead with five minutes left before Brianne Jenner made it 2-1. The Americans hit the post on a shot toward an empty net, then Poulin tied the game in the final minute. Knight was in the penalty box when Poulin scored in overtime.

The USA did the rallying in 2018 in a game in which both Knight and Poulin scored. Monique Lamoureux tied the game in the third period and her sister Jocelyne had the decisive goal to give the Americans a shootout win.

In 2022, Poulin scored twice for a 3-0 lead before Knight scored. Amanda Kessel made it 3-2 with 13 seconds left, but that ended up as the final score.

Canada is 4-2 against the United States in gold-medal games. Here are the previous scores:

USA vs. Canada gold medal game results

1998 gold medal game: 3-1 USA

2002 gold medal game: 3-2 Canada

2010 gold medal game: 2-0 Canada

2014 gold medal game: 3-2 Canada (OT)

2018 gold medal game: 3-2 USA (shootout)

2022 gold medal game: 3-2 Canada