‘Happy’ Mikaela Shiffrin dominates in Levi slalom for 102nd World Cup win
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Mikaela Shiffrin feeding the reindeer of Santa Claus on the podium after winning the women's slalom at Levi in Finland on Nov 15.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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LEVI – American ski queen Mikaela Shiffrin laid down a marker to potential challengers this season with a crushing 102nd World Cup win in the opening slalom of 2025 at Levi in Finland on Nov 15.
The 30-year-old, who lost much of 2024 to serious injury before coming back to clinch her 100th World Cup victory
Going out third, Shiffrin finished over a second ahead of her nearest challenger.
She wrapped up victory with a second devastating run to clock a total of 1min 48.92sec.
Shiffrin was the quickest on both runs and finished 1.66sec ahead of Albanian Lara Colturi on her 19th birthday with third-placed German Emma Aicher, 22, coming strong in the second run to claim her first World Cup slalom podium.
It marked a 65th slalom win for Shiffrin and showed definitively that she is over last season’s horrific injury.
“Well, I have trusted the training I did with my team and we did really good work over the summer,” she said.
“So the final step was mentality and pushing and it was really nice to race today.”
After posting her ninth victory at Levi, her record number of victories on a single slope, she admitted that she enjoyed racing in Lapland.
“(It’s) starting to feel a little more like home,” she said.
“I really enjoyed being here and so happy to kick off this long season.”
At the end of October, in the opening giant slalom in Soelden, Austria, the American took a promising fourth place, but her victory in Finland lifted her to the top of the overall standings where she leads compatriot Paula Moltzan by 20 points.
“This season, it was very important for me to get off to a good start because I was injured for a long time last year, so mentally it was important to get off to a good start,” she added.
“Right now, I’m very happy with the first two races of the winter.”
Such a strong start is also a warning to her rivals that Shiffrin has the Winter Olympics, which are in Italy in February, firmly in her sights, even if she said at the start of the season that she would take the winter “step by step”.
The next women’s slalom will be in Gurgl, Austria, on Nov 23. AFP
