Mikaela Shiffrin takes slalom in Flachau for 94th World Cup win
The double Olympic champion was emotional after the win, which comes days after boyfriend Aleksander Aamodt-Kilde took a scary crash
Alpine Skiing
Mikaela Shiffrin took her first alpine skiing FIS World Cup win of 2024 as she returned to action for the women's slalom in Flachau, Austria, Tuesday (16 January).
The 28-year-old held off her rival Petra Vlhova of Slovakia for the win. Shiffrin clocked 1:49.35, while Vlhova's 1:49.62 was good for second.
Sweden's Sara Hector came in third in 1:50.46.
The win is the American legend's 94th career World Cup victory and her sixth of the 2023-24 season. She's won the slalom five times in Flachau.
Shiffrin missed the Alternmarket-Zauchensee Super G on Sunday to recover from a cold and was later spotted at the bedside of boyfriend Aleksander Aamodt-Kilde, who sustained a string of injuries after a heavy crash in Wengen.
"Really, really proud of this evening, very thankful for my whole team," said a tearful Shiffrin afterward. "These last days have been very challenging, they've been so supportive, they helped me go see Alex. Thank you guys all for cheering, really - I know there's a lot of Slovakia fans in the crowd, and I'm sorry for that tonight. Thank you for cheering anyway."
On Tuesday as her mom, brother and sister-in-law looked on, Shiffrin found herself in a solid position going into the second run after finishing just .07 back of the fastest time set by Vlhova. The American clocked a 53.08 to Vlhova's 53.01.
In the second run, Shiffrin pushed the speed in the second half of the run and put the pressure on Vlhova with a 56.27 time.
Vlhova had a slight lead midway through the course, but a small hiccup in the final seconds meant she would have to settle for silver.
Currently, the Colorado-born skier is leading both the overall and slalom standings.
She also lies third in the giant slalom rankings with Italian Federica Brignone occupying the pole position.
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