Mikaela Shiffrin amasses 2 new records with slalom win at Gurgl
U.S. Ski Team racer Mikaela Shiffrin and Italian but-racing-for-Albania Lara Colturi went 1-2 again in the opening run and second run of the second women’s World Cup slalom of the Olympic season Sunday in Gurgl, Austria.
The feat replicated the result from last week’s race in Levi, Finland where Shiffrin won her 102 career World Cup race and ninth reindeer.
Sunday’s race in sunny but cold conditions allowed Shiffrin to finish 1.23 seconds ahead of the Italian teenager in the win.
Swiss racer Camille Rast, who is the reining Slalom world champion, out skied Wendy Holdener on the second run to win capture third place, 1.41 seconds behind Shiffrin.
Holdener claimed fourth at 1.59 seconds behind Shiffrin.
As for other American ski racers, Paula Moltzan came in fifth, 1.74 seconds behind Shiffrin, and the only other racer to finish sub-two seconds behind the leader.
“It’s quite an interesting one today. With the cold temperatures and the dry snow, it’s such a different feeling under the feet,” Shiffrin said, who beat Colturi by 1.66 in the season-opening slalom in Finland eight days earlier.
Colturi, the daughter of 2002 Olympic super-G champion Daniela Ceccarelli, was just a few hundredths behind Shiffrin in the steep middle part of the course, but the American gained nearly a quarter of a second in the flat final section.
“It’s like finding the balance between pushing really hard and then managing the speed a little bit. And I did a good job,” Shiffrin said.
With Shiffrin’s win Sunday she now has 103 total World Cup victories and 66 total Slalom victories, both new records for the Edwards, Colorado resident.
Shiffrin’s next races are a giant slalom on Saturday and a slalom the following day in Copper Mountain, the regular training base of the U.S. ski team.
The women’s races follow two men’s events in Copper Mountain on Thursday and Friday.
“I am really excited to go to Copper. I mean, I stay in my own bed for the first time during the season since we used to go to Aspen,” Shiffrin said.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.