Alpine Ski World Cup 2023/24: Mikaela Shiffrin secures slalom Crystal Globe in brilliant post-injury comeback in Are
Two winning runs secured Shiffrin her career's eighth slalom Crystal Globe. The USA skier earlier spoke of the heartbreak of not being able to defend her overall Crystal Globe due to an MCL injury.
Alpine Skiing
Mikaela Shiffrin may have only had three “close to normal” training sessions over the last seven weeks as she was sidelined with an injury, but when it came time to compete again, the USA alpine skier delivered one of her best performances yet this season.
The double Olympic champion secured the slalom Crystal Globe - her career's eighth - with two winning runs in Are, Sweden on Sunday (10 March), beating out her closest competitor Zrinka Ljutic by 1.24 seconds.
“It was so nice to race again today, and it’s nerves and all the emotions that I hoped to feel,” Shiffrin told FIS after the competition. “For sure proud of myself to get back here and to show the skiing - it’s some of my best skiing - so I’m just so happy to be able to do that again this season.”
Shiffrin suffered an MCL injury after crashing in the downhill race at Cortina d’Ampezzo on 26 January and has not raced until her comeback in Are.
She led by 0.02 seconds over Switzerland’s Michelle Gisin after the first run, and was even more aggressive on her second try.
“The first run, I was pushing really hard but sometimes I wasn’t keeping up with the pace of the course," Shiffrin said. "My skill level, I wasn’t able to handle the course in the same way that I could handle this [second] one."
Croatia's Ljutic also improved on the second run to move up one position, while Gisin dropped to third place.
The victory in Are marks Shiffrin's career’s 96th World Cup win. With the extra 100 points, she is now also guaranteed to win this season's slalom Crystal Globe with only one slalom race to go.
The Crystal Globe was a key goal for the USA skier in making her comeback. On the eve of her return, Shiffrin announced that she will not compete in any more speed races this season, conceding that she has no chance to defend her overall Crystal Globe following the injury.
She leads the slalom rankings with 730 points but has dropped from first to third in the overall rankings during her weeks in recovery.
Are FIS World Cup: Results from women's slalom, 10 March 2024 (top 10):
- Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) 1:42.95
- Zrinka Ljutic (CRO) +1.24
- Michelle Gisin (SUI) +1.34
- Lena Duerr (GER) +1.35
- Anna Swenn Larsson (SWE) +1.36
- Katharina Liensberger (AUT) +1.90
- Emma Aicher (GER) +1.91
- Dzenifera Germane (LAT) +2.00
- Neja Dvornik (SLO) +2.04
- Paula Moltzan (USA) +2.07
Full race standings and split timings are available on the FIS Ski website.