Alpine ski World Cup 23/24: Mikaela Shiffrin makes history with Jasna slalom victory
U.S. legend Mikaela Shiffrin bagged a record-extending 95th career World Cup victory and becomes the most successful female slalom skier in the series. Croatian prodigy Zrinka Ljutic finished second and Sweden's Anna Swenn Larsson third.
Alpine Skiing
Double Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin claimed a record-extending 58th Alpine skiing FIS World Cup victory in her pet slalom event in Jasna, Slovakia, on Sunday (21 January).
Shiffrin set a record for most World Cup podiums in a single discipline, earning her 82nd top-three result in the slalom, moving one clear of Swedish great Ingemar Stenmark. The 28-year-old Shiffrin edged closer to Stenmark’s record of 155 World Cup podiums across all disciplines with her 150th podium finish.
The American superstar was in imperious form, laying a solid foundation in her opening run with a 0.52 seconds advantage over the second-placed Zrinka Ljutic of Croatia.
Shiffrin led the rest of the field by more than a second, setting her up nicely for another record-breaking performance on the hill.
Rising star Ljutic delivered a barnstorming second run, moving to the top of the standing with only Shiffrin to go down the piste. As Shiffrin barrelled down the hill, she seemed to let the victory slip out of her hands but edged Ljutic by 0.08 on the second run.
Shiffrin still delivered the two fastest runs with a combined winning time of one minute, 48.21 seconds (1:48.21), with Ljutic finishing second, just 0.14 behind her. Anna Swenn Larsson of Sweden finished third in 1:49.02.
Olympic slalom gold medallist Petra Vlhova, who is Shiffrin’s main rival in the technical event, suffered a season-ending knee injury on the first run of Saturday’s giant slalom. The Slovakian ace crashed at the ninth gate and was taken to hospital.
“It was not easy on the second run, and I felt the energy was gone…I knew she (Ljutic) put down an amazing run, and I had to push,” Shiffrin told the FIS afterwards.
“We are missing somebody really big today. We miss Petra a lot.”
Shiffrin consolidated her lead on the overall World Cup standings with her seventh victory and 12th podium finish of the season, with Vlhova still occupying second place, 407 points adrift. The American further cemented her place at the top of the slalom standings in the absence of Vlhova.
Jasna, FIS World Cup: Results from women's slalom, 21 January 2024 (top 10)
- Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) 1:48.21
- Zrinka Ljutic (CRO) +0.14
- Anna Swenn Larsson (SWE) +0.81
- Camille Rast (SUI) +0.90
- Melanie Meillard (SUI) +1.39
- Michelle Gisin (SUI) +1.86
- Lena Duerr (GER) +1.97
- Dzenifera Germane (LAT) +2.09
- Sara Hector (SWE) +2.23
- Neja Dvorik (SLO) +2.82