02/18/26 08:23:00
Printable Page
02/18 08:20 CST US star Mikaela Shiffrin wins slalom to break 8-year Olympic
drought
US star Mikaela Shiffrin wins slalom to break 8-year Olympic drought
By STEVE DOUGLAS
AP Sports Writer
CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) --- Mikaela Shiffrin's turbulent, 12-year Olympic
journey came full circle Wednesday when she won the slalom by a massive 1.50
seconds to break her long medal drought at the Winter Games.
Shiffrin put in two dominant runs in gorgeous conditions amid the jagged peaks
of the Dolomites to show, again, why she is regarded by many as the greatest
Alpine skier of all time.
It was the third-largest margin of victory in a women's Olympic slalom, the
event she won as a fresh-faced teenager in Sochi in 2014 to underline her
status as a skiing star.
Twelve years later, she delivered again in her favorite race and the emotions
came out in the finish area after being embraced by world champion Camille Rast
of Switzerland, who took silver, and bronze-medalist Anna Swenn Larsson of
Sweden.
The 30-year-old Shiffrin pumped her fists to the crowd and then was fighting
back tears as she approached her mom and coach, Eileen, for a long hug on the
sidelines.
Shiffrin said it was "really hard to understand and process" her victory.
"Maybe," she added, "just today, I realized what happened in Sochi. It's crazy."
For Shiffrin, maybe it also was a release of all the pressure after failing to
win an Olympic medal since adding gold and silver to her collection in
Pyeongchang in 2018.
A nightmarish 0-for-6 performance in Beijiing was followed in Cortina d'Ampezzo
this year with an 11th place in the giant slalom and a fourth-place finish with
Breezy Johnson in the team combined, in which Shiffrin placed 15th in the
slalom portion.
That's all in the past.
Shiffrin has now won three golds and a silver at the Olympics to add to her
record total on World Cup wins --- it's 108 and counting, including 71 in
slalom.
___
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
|
