Mikaela Shiffrin lands emotional slalom win in Flachau to tie Ingemar Stenmark podium record

ByEurosport

Published 17/01/2024 at 06:51 GMT

Mikaela Shiffrin was second after the first run in Flachau behind Petra Vlhova, but a superb second run powered her to victory and an 81st podium in World Cup slalom races. But the American's thoughts quickly turned to her boyfriend Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, who will miss the rest of the season after dislocating his shoulder in a horrible crash last week during a World Cup downhill race in Wengen.

Tearful Shiffrin admits 'last days have been very challenging' after Kilde crash

An emotional Mikaela Shiffrin produced a lightning second run to claim victory in Flachau to tie Ingemar Stenmark's record for World Cup slalom podiums.

But her focus quickly turned to boyfriend Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, who suffered a season-ending injury last week after a brutal crash in the Wengen downhill.

"'I'm really proud of this evening and really thankful for my whole team. These last days have been very challenging," said Shiffrin through tears, after earning her 94th World Cup win and 81st slalom podium.

Flachau

Tearful Shiffrin admits 'last days have been very challenging' after Kilde crash

00:01:08

17/01/2024 at 06:45

The American was just 0.07 seconds behind Petra Vlhova after the first run, with the two in a class of their own in Austria.

Double Olympic gold medallist Shiffrin then pulled clear of Vlhova in the second run, winning by 0.27 seconds in a total time of 1:49.35.

Sweden's Sara Hector completed the podium, finishing 1.11 seconds behind Shiffrin, as she took advantage of compatriot Anna Swenn-Larsson's poor second run to jump one place up to third.

Shiffrin now leads Vlhova in both the slalom and the overall World Cup standings. The five-time overall winner has just a 25-point lead in the slalom standings but a mammoth 227 across all the alpine disciplines.

The women's alpine skiing next heads to Vlhova's home of Slovakia this weekend.