Mikaela Shiffrin disappointingly could not add to her medal count or to her title as the most decorated American skier in history Tuesday.

Shiffrin failed to earn her third career Olympic gold medal — and first since 2018 — when she and Breezy Johnson finished in fourth place in the new team combined event at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games.

Austria’s Ariane Raedler and Katharina Huber instead grabbed the gold, while Emma Aicher and Kira Weidle-Winkelmann of Germany took silver and the American duo of Jacqueline Wiles and Paula Moltzan finished third.

“I didn’t quite find a comfort level that allows me to produce full speed,” said Shiffrin, who still has her individual events of giant slalom and slalom to come. “So I’m going to have to learn what to do, what to adjust in the short time we have before the other tech races.

“I want to be careful not to make excuses because it’s not really an excuse. … I’ve been so prepared for all the slaloms this year. So there’s something to learn from this day.And I’m going to learn it.”

It would have marked the second gold of these Games in Italy for Johnson, who had already captured the women’s downhill event over the weekend, and she had posted the fastest time in the downhill portion of the combined competition earlier Tuesday.

But Shiffrin was unable to maintain the lead in the slalom with the 15th fastest time in her event, more than a full second slower than Aicher.

The 30-year-old Shiffrin had been shut out from the podium over six events in 2022 in Beijing after the Colorado native took gold in the slalom in 2014 in Sochi and in the giant slalom in 2018 in Pyeongchang, where she also earned a silver medal in the Alpine combined competition.

Johnson, also 30, gave her heralded teammate the lead in the team combined event — which adds together the times of the downhill and slalom runs — by finishing 0.06 seconds ahead of Raedler of Austria in the downhill earlier Tuesday morning.

There were no major crashes Tuesday on the downhill course where fellow American star Lindsey Vonn suffered a broken left leg Sunday and needed to be airlifted off the mountain.

“I didn’t feel so worried that I was going to blow out, which was my biggest fear today,” Johnson told reporters after her race.

“And then I just was like, ‘Let’s have some fun. Let’s ski relaxed and free.’ And I feel like I did that.”

Johnson added that Shiffrin texted her between races that she was “blown away” by Johnson’s run, and said she replied, “No pressure from me and go get ’em.”

“I already have my gold medal. I hope that she has fun and does her best,” Johnson said. “But if anything happens I’m not going to be like, ‘Oh you ruined anything.’ ”

The longtime friends had combined to win gold in this event during its debut at last year’s world championships.

Shiffrin lost time to the leaders at every checkpoint and crossed the finish line 0.31 seconds behind — also leaving her and Johnson 0.06 behind the other American team for the bronze position.

Shiffrin and Johnson were shown embracing in the finish area after the event concluded.