On Thursday, Mikaela Shiffrin, an American skier, claimed the gold in the women’s giant slalom at the World Championships, despite a mistake near the end of the race.
Shiffrin, who held on to her first-run lead, was overjoyed and celebrated by covering her mouth with her hands before collapsing onto the snow.
Federica Brignone from Italy was 0.12 seconds behind, and Norway’s Ragnhild Mowinckel, trailed by 0.22, came over to congratulate her. Shiffrin expressed that the past few days had been stressful, but she managed to keep her focus during the race.
This victory came just two days after Shiffrin’s head coach, Mike Day unexpectedly left the team in the middle of the championships.
Shiffrin had informed Day that she planned to take a new direction with her staff at the end of the season, but his departure was sudden and difficult for the team, who had been like a family.
Shiffrin has already won 11 races this season on the World Cup circuit and broke the women’s record of 82 wins set by Lindsey Vonn.
She is one win away from matching the overall record set by Swedish skier Ingemar Stenmark.
Tessa Worley from France, who was second after the first run, fell in her second run and felt that she was not relaxed enough. Shiffrin expressed gratitude to the home crowd for cheering for her.
This win marks Shiffrin’s first gold medal at the World Championships since winning the combined title in Italy in 2021. It also raises her total of world titles to seven and her overall medals from the World Championships to 13.
Shiffrin is now the fourth female skier to have won world titles in four different disciplines, including slalom, super-G and combined.
Shiffrin’s last race at the World Championships is the slalom on Saturday. American skiers Nina O’Brien and Paula Moltzan also competed in the giant slalom, with O’Brien improving from 21st to 11th while Moltzan spun around and missed a gate. The men’s giant slalom is scheduled for Friday.
Mikaela Shiffrin’s victory in the women’s giant slalom at the World Championships was a remarkable achievement, especially after the unexpected departure of her coach and the stress of the past few days.
Her determination and focus paid off, earning her the gold medal and adding to her impressive list of accomplishments in the sport.
Shiffrin’s win demonstrates her talent and resilience, and it will be exciting to see what she accomplishes in her upcoming races at the World Championships and beyond.