Fabulous time in Åre
Ladies’ slalom in Aare from 10.30 a.m. LIVE
Mikaela Shiffrin has won the small crystal globe in the slalom! The US American triumphed in her World Cup comeback in Åre ahead of Zrinka Ljutic from Croatia and Michelle Gisin from Switzerland. The best Austrian was Katharina Liensberger in sixth place.
Ski superstar Mikaela Shiffrin has made a perfect comeback. The US American secured her 96th World Cup victory in Åre on Saturday to win her eighth crystal globe in the slalom. Croatia's Zrinka Ljutic (+1.24 sec.) and Switzerland's Michelle Gisin (+1.34) followed well behind in second and third place. Austria's best in the penultimate gate run of the season was Katharina Liensberger (6th).
The final result:
Katharina Huber (16th) and Katharina Gallhuber (11th), the duo were still in a promising fifth and sixth place at half-time, fell far behind in the decision. Shiffrin, on the other hand, was already operating in similar spheres as before her knee ligament injury six weeks ago.
In the same league as Vonn and Stenmark
Only Ingemar Stenmark (slalom and giant slalom) and Lindsey Vonn (downhill) had previously won eight crystal medals in a specific discipline. Marcel Hirscher won the overall World Cup eight times. Shiffrin now holds 16 globes, including five big ones for the overall World Cup.
Special place, special day
Åre remains special for Shiffrin. She celebrated her very first victory at the Swedish World Cup venue as a 17-year-old and her record win last year (87). "It's a special place, a special day - a wonderful day. It's wonderful to race on a day like this," said Shiffrin in the ORF interview. "I'm very grateful to get back into racing like this."
If she continues her career, which can currently be assumed, she will be aiming for the 100 in the 2024/25 World Championship season. This winter is no longer possible, even mathematically, as she will miss out on the speed races in Saalbach.
Despite some minor teething problems, the soon-to-be 29-year-old was already leading after the first run, just ahead of the trio of Gisin (+0.02 sec.), Ljutic (+0.11) and Germany's Lena Dürr (+0.24). Run two then turned out to be an incredible demonstration of power given the previous history. Shiffrin had previously explained that she had only completed four normal slalom sessions in the past seven weeks after crashing in Cortina d'Ampezzo at the end of January. "I feel really good, but the practice and energy are still missing a bit," she said after run one.
"Was always there for me"
During her comeback work, there were some frustrating moments with many uncertain questions, Shiffrin said. Being able to fight for her eighth globe at all at the end of the season was crazy. On the other hand, the slalom is her "home", said the exceptional athlete: "The slalom has always been there for me in my career."
Liensberger was given medical clearance after her crash in the giant slalom on Saturday, which left her with a grumpy skull and a bruised hip. The Vorarlberg native improved in the decision and made up two places. She was satisfied with sixth place - her second best result of the season. "The aim this season was to get back into a form that I can work with so that I can get back to the top."
Compared to her two World Cup victories in Åre, for example, the 2021 slalom world champion said she was not yet able to push herself to the limit. "You need a clean, confident skiing style. The precision to hit every turn." Huber struggled with her relapse after she had fully attacked. "The vertical was tricky. I didn't want to take out too much speed and still had to cut him off."
Franziska Gritsch missed out on qualifying for the World Cup final in 33rd place with no points. Lisa Hörhager (36th) and Youth Olympic Champion Maja Waroschitz (48th) also failed to clear the 30-meter hurdle on her World Cup debut. Katharina Truppe faltered and returned home from Sweden without any points. Federica Brignone finished in 27th place with four points and moved to Saalbach for the final four races, 282 points behind Lara Gut-Behrami in the overall World Cup.
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