COURCHEVEL
Mikaela Shiffrin is rewriting the record books this Olympic season. The American ski star continues to dominate slalom races, winning by an average of more than 1.5 seconds — a huge margin in competitive skiing.
Shiffrin claimed her 105th World Cup victory, extending her record after several top rivals failed to finish during the night race. She crossed the finish line 1.55 seconds ahead of Switzerland’s Camille Rast and 1.71 seconds ahead of Germany’s Emma Aicher.
This season, Shiffrin has won the first four slaloms and five in a row including last season’s final race. Her victories in Levi, Finland; Gurgl, Austria; and Copper Mountain, Colorado, all featured margins exceeding a full second, with three over 1.5 seconds — averaging 1.5025 seconds this season. “I’m just pushing. I’m not asking questions. Sometimes you just got to take it and roll with it,” Shiffrin said.
Rivals struggled on the challenging course. Germany’s Lena Duerr went off course, while Lara Colturi of Albania straddled a gate early, ending her podium streak. Wendy Holdener suffered a scary tumble but still finished seventh. Zrinka Ljutic and Olympic silver medalist Katharina Liensberger both failed to finish midway down.
Austria’s Katharina Truppe finished fourth, and American Paula Moltzan moved from ninth to fifth after a strong second run. Shiffrin’s 68th World Cup slalom win adds to her Olympic golds in Sochi 2014 and Pyeongchang 2018.
Looking ahead to the February Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Shiffrin will be a favorite for multiple medals. She leads the overall World Cup standings with 558 points, followed by Alice Robinson, Rast, and Aicher. Lindsey Vonn, who won a downhill last week at 41, will return soon for downhill and super-G races.
Shiffrin’s dominance shows no sign of slowing as the Olympic season intensifies.
