After three consecutive wins of Petra Vlhova in the Slalom, under the floodlights, in the Planai racecourse in Schladming, Mikaela Shiffrin has returned to the top of the podium in a slalom event. It was her first win in Slalom since November in Killington.
After being 5th in the first run, she fully attacks to set the best time in a magic second run and climb to the top of the podium.
Mikaela Shiffrin has won 47 World Cup slalom events, breaking the record for most World Cup victories in a single discipline overcoming Ingemar Stenmark.
Today's win is also special for the American skier because Shiffrin took her first major medal on this slope at the 2013 World Championship.
"It's such a privilege to race on this slope and all I wanted to do today was earn that, deserve it. It's iconic, it's Schladming - I was geeking out this morning because I can't believe we can be here. It's special to be here", said an emotional Shiffrin.
Shiffrin has won 73 World Cup events, ranking her in third place all-time behind Ingemar Stenmark (86) and Lindsey Vonn (82). In her last 58 World Cup slalom participations, Shiffrin finished on the podium 53 times (38 wins).
Only Ingemar Stenmark (155), Marcel Hirscher (138), Lindsey Vonn (137), have claimed more podiums in the World Cup than Mikaela Shiffrin (116).
“It feels like a dream. Sometimes you just have to risk it and hope it will work. Anytime you're faster than Petra, it's a good job. She's just so great at skiing. To be honest, I'm surprised that my second run would be enough because she is so strong. She’s making no mistakes. She’s skiing slalom the way it’s meant to be skied. It’s impressive. It’s really special to watch that. I'm just very grateful that I won here today. Creating the world record is great, but it will take a while to realize it", said Shiffrin.
After today's win, Mikaela Shiffrin stretched her lead in the overall standings over Vlhova to 55 points.
Petra Vlhova finished today in second place +0.15 seconds behind Shiffrin. With his second-place today she secured the Slalom Crystal Globe after winning in Levi (2), Lienz, Zagreb, Kranjska Gora, and finished second behind Mikaela Shiffrin in the Killington slalom. It's her second globe in the discipline after the one she won in 2020.
“I don't really know what happened. I finished and was only second. And then I was told I won the Slalom Globe. So early in the season. That’s really great. We are very pleased. I'm very proud to race against Mikaela, she has achieved so much in this sport. We just push ourselves. It's a fight. Sometimes you win, sometimes you are behind. But second place is also good”, said Vlhova.
Lena Duerr rounded out the podium in third place (+0.93). It's her third World Cup Podium this season after finishing third in both World Cup slalom events held in Levi on 20 and 21 November.
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