Mikaela Shiffrin made her comeback today after a 6-week injury break. She was out of competition since she fell in the Alpine Ski World Cup Downhill in Cortina d'Ampezzo on January 26.
44 days after she was injured in Italy Mikaela Shiffrin seamlessly continued her previous Slalom performances. The 28-year-old American went into the decision with a narrow lead of 0.02 seconds over the Swiss Michelle Gisin. Croatian Zrinka Ljutic is also just 0.11 seconds behind in third place.
In the second run, in a technical and turny course setting, she delivered a master class posting the best time to score her 96th World Cup victory, 83rd Slalom podium, 59th Slalom victory, and 6th Slalom win of the season. Shiffrin finished 1.24 seconds ahead of Ljutic and 1.34 over Gisin.
Mikaela Shiffrin, who will celebrate her 29th birthday on Wednesday, gave herself a perfect present. She has won the Slalom Crystal Globe for the eighth time. It's her 16th Crystal Globe- (5 Overall, 8 in Slalom, 2 in Giant Slalom, and 1 in Super-G). Shiffrin has equaled the record for most World Cup classification wins in a specific discipline: eight by Ingemar Stenmark (Slalom and Giant Slalom) and Lindsey Vonn (Downhill).
Ã…re is a very special place for the US ski superstar. She won her first World Cup race in the Swedish ski resort in December 2012 when she was only 17.
On March 11, 2023, in Ã…re Mikaela Shiffrin surpassed Ingemar Stenmark's record of 86 World Cup victories. The win in Sweden, the place where she won her first World Cup race 11 years before, makes statistically, Mikaela Shiffrin the Greatest Skier of All Time.
Ã…re also is one of the four places where Shiffrin has claimed seven World Cup victories together with Courchevel, Levi, and Semmering.
"I really don't know what to say. I think I'm a bit speechless. The whole situation in the last few weeks, I didn't know a week ago whether I would even make it to Are. Of course, I was also disappointed that I had to be off the fight for the overall World Cup. But I said to myself: I'm concentrating on the slalom now. It is also important for me that I was able to ski again this season and that the season has a happy ending. It almost feels like a dream," Shiffrin said.
"This is a special place and day for me. It's incredible that I managed to make such a comeback. It's been a wild season for everyone, ups and downs. Now I have the Slalom Crystal Globe, and that was my big goal the whole season," she added.
20-year-old Croatian rising star Zrinka Ljutic finished second in World Cup Slalom for a third consecutive time (Jasna, Soldeu, and now Ã…re).
"It was a great day. I was really happy with my first run and I tried to charge in my second run and I think I did well. Of course, there are some things I can do better, but I finished second and I’m really proud of that. The third podium in a row. I would not believe at the beginning of the season, that I could do that. Something has clicked this season and I’m more than happy," Ljutic said.
Switzerlands' Michelle Gisin achieved today her second Slalom podium of the season. The 30-year-old Swiss skier achieved her 9th career World Cup Slalom podium.
"It's been an incredible slalom season. I would never have thought of that but I’m very glad. I was very lucky today, with Lena and Anna being so close behind," Gisin said.
After the last races of the season before the Finals in Saalbach, Lara Gut-Behrami leads the Overall standings with 1654 points. Federica Brignone, who scored 4 points thanks to a 27th place in the Slalom today, is in second place 282 points behind Gut-Behrami. Mikaela Shiffrin is third with 1309 points. Shiffrin has announced that she is out of the fight for the Overall Crystal Globe. She will compete in the Slalom in Saalbach and also hopes to participate in the Giant Slalom.