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02/18 07:45 CST US star Mikaela Shiffrin wins slalom to break 8-year Olympic
drought
US star Mikaela Shiffrin wins slalom to break 8-year Olympic drought
By STEVE DOUGLAS
AP Sports Writer
CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) --- Mikaela Shiffrin's eight-year Olympic medal
drought is over.
The American skiing standout put in two dominant runs to win the women's slalom
at the Winter Games on Wednesday by 1.50 seconds.
The race isn't officially over yet, with dozens of lower-tier racers still to
take the course. But Shiffrin is the leader after the fastest 30 skiers from
the first run.
World champion Camille Rast was in silver medal position and Anna Swenn Larsson
in third.
After delivering an exquisite second run to build on her 0.82-run lead from the
morning, Shiffrin stopped in the finish area to take it all, slowly squatted
and was embraced by the other medalists.
Then all the emotion came out: Shiffrin pumped her fists to the crowd and then
was fighting back tears as she approached her mom and coach, Eileen.
Maybe it was a release of all the pressure on Shiffrin, for many the greatest
Alpine skier of all time, who had failed to win an Olympic medal since a gold
and silver in Pyeongchang in 2018.
A nightmarish 0-for-6 performance in Beijiing was followed in Cortina d'Ampezzo
with an 11th place in the giant slalom and a fourth-place finish with Breezy
Johnson in the team combined, in which Shiffrin placed 15th in the slalom
portion.
Her first gold came in the slalom as a fresh-faced teenager in Sochi 12 years
ago, so her Olympic journey has come full circle in her favorite event.
___
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
