Arif Mohammad Khan Sets Indian Record With 39th Place Finish At Winter Olympics

Last Updated:February 16, 2026, 21:29 IST

Arif Mohammad Khan finished 39th in men’s slalom at Milan Cortina Winter Olympic Games, marking India’s best-ever finish.

India’s top alpine skier Arif Mohammad Khan finished 39th in the men’s slalom event after two combined runs at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympic Games on Monday. Khan clocked a combined time of 2 minutes 41.60 seconds, securing the last spot among those who completed both runs at the Stelvio Ski Centre, marking India’s best-ever finish in the men’s slalom event at the Winter Olympics.

Khan was 44th out of 96 competitors in the first run with a time of 1:22.12 and 39th in the second run with a time of 1:19.48, giving him a combined time of 2:41.60 for a 39th place finish.

The previous best by an Indian man was Kishore Ratna Rai’s 49th-place finish with a time of 2:52.21 at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary.

India’s best slalom finish at the Winter Olympics belongs to Shailaja Kumar, who finished 28th with a time of 2:52.27 in the women’s event in Calgary 1988.

How Arif Mohammad Khan Performed At Winter Olympics?

The 35-year-old Khan’s combined time was 47.99 seconds more than the gold medal winner Loic Meillard of Switzerland, who clocked 1:53.61. Fabio Gstrein of Austria finished second with a time of 1:53.96, while Henrik Kristoffersen of Norway took the bronze with 1:54.74.

Brazil’s Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, who made history by winning the giant slalom event on Saturday as the first athlete from South America to win a medal at a Winter Olympics, failed to win another gold. His ski slipped out on a fast first run.

Slalom is a high-speed, technical alpine skiing discipline where competitors race down a slope, navigating a zigzag course marked by closely spaced, alternating sets of poles or “gates". It is the fastest-turning event in alpine skiing, requiring quick, short turns to achieve the fastest combined time across two runs. Failure to pass through any gate in Run 1 results in a DNF (Did Not Finish), preventing the athlete from starting the second run. Missing a gate or crashing off course in Run 2 also leads to a DNF, disqualifying the skier from final classification. Each competitor gets two runs, and the final rankings are based on the combined time from both attempts — the lower the total time, the better the result.

This was Arif Khan’s second Winter Olympics appearance. At Beijing 2022, he failed to finish in the men’s slalom but finished 45th in the giant slalom, marking India’s best-ever finish in the event at the Winter Olympics. Khan turned to crowdfunding for his Winter Olympic participation.

India’s campaign ended after Khan’s event. Earlier, India’s Stanzin Lundup finished 104th in the men’s 10km freestyle cross-country skiing event.

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