American skier Mikaela Shiffrin showcased her dominance in a World Cup slalom event held on home snow in Colorado, maintaining a flawless record in the discipline for the Olympic season. Shiffrin secured her fourth consecutive victory in slalom, following previous wins in the current season’s opening races and the last event of the prior season. This triumph marked Shiffrin’s 104th World Cup win and her 67th victory in slalom, setting records in both categories.
During the race, Shiffrin navigated through light snowfall, further solidifying her lead from the first run and ultimately clinching victory with an impressive 1.57-second lead over Lena Duerr of Germany, who surged from ninth place after the initial leg. Fans at Copper Mountain, just a short distance from Shiffrin’s hometown of Edwards, Colorado, cheered her on with signs expressing their support.
In a post-race address to the crowd, Shiffrin acknowledged the fans’ encouragement, stating, “I could hear you guys from the start. Thank you.” She described her performance as flawless, emphasizing that it was an exceptional run.
Teenager Lara Colturi from Albania overcame an early mistake in her second run to secure third place, finishing 1.85 seconds behind Shiffrin. Wendy Holdener claimed fourth place, with Anna Swenn Larsson rounding up the top five positions. This victory marked Shiffrin’s first win in Colorado in over ten years, with 12 of her 104 World Cup victories achieved on American soil.
Shiffrin, who also triumphed in the 2015 world championships in Vail-Beaver Creek, Colorado, has now achieved the feat of winning the opening three slaloms of a season four times in her career. She will next compete in two giant slaloms in Tremblant, Quebec, before heading back to Europe for the remainder of the season.
The upcoming Milan Cortina Olympics, scheduled for February 6-22, are expected to showcase Shiffrin’s talents once again, with the women’s Alpine skiing events taking place in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. Shiffrin’s recent emotional journey was highlighted by her fiancee Aleksander Aamodt Kilde’s return to racing after a two-year hiatus due to severe injuries, which moved her to tears during the Thanksgiving super-G event at Copper Mountain.