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Mikaela Shiffrin celebrates 'new beginning' with her first slalom win in 13 months
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Published 13/01/2021 at 10:51 GMT
Mikaela Shiffrin, who endured a traumatic 2020 due to the death of her father in February, the Covid-19 pandemic and a back injury, last triumphed in slalom in December 2019. The result earned her a 68th World Cup victory, leaving her 14 wins behind fellow American Lindsey Vonn, who holds the record for most by a woman.
Mikaela Shiffrin
Image credit: Getty Images
Two-time Olympic gold medallist Mikaela Shiffrin said her first slalom win in 13 months in Austria on Tuesday felt like a fresh start.
Racing in light snowfall under the lights, Shiffrin sealed a record 44th slalom victory with a time of 1:47.92, holding off Katharina Liensberger of Austria by 0.19 seconds.
"It feels a little bit like a new beginning," Shiffrin told broadcaster ORF.
"Most of my wins and my best races are behind me. It's already happened. And, at 25, it's weird to think the bulk of my best racing in my career is already over.
"You can't really move forward until you stop trying to go back, and I'm having a difficult time with that.
Shiffrin insists chasing Vonn's milestone of 82 World Cup wins was not on her mind.
"This slope has kind of tripped me up the last several years. I just wanted to ski strong," Shiffrin said. "It was really fun."
OUR VIEW
This is a monumental win for Shiffrin, make no mistake about it.
Gisin might have broken the Shiffrin-Vlhova stranglehold on slalom racing a couple of weeks ago but they are still very much the two to beat.
Shiffrin has had to watch her Slovakian rival dominate the slalom but this was Shiffrin back to her best.
This was the last slalom before the World Championships in February and it will do Shiffrin the world of good to be going to Italy next month on the back of a win.
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