An ill Mikaela Shiffrin puts her wins record on hold as she finishes 2nd at the Alpine skiing World Cup
Mikaela Shiffrin, the American Alpine Skier, will have to wait a little longer before winning her next event, which will be her 83rd victory on the women's World Cup circuit. Many expected Mikaela to celebrate her 83rd victory if she had emerged victorious during the event in Flachau, Austria.
However, the American Alpine skier finished second behind Slovakia's Petra Vlhova. Mikaela was also ill during the race in Flachau and was throwing up after the end of the race. Flachau's victory was Petra Vlhova's first win of the 2022-23 season.
Vlhova won the event with a time of 1:51.95 on her two slalom runs, followed by Mikaela in second with a time of 1:52.38. Germany's Lena Duerr finished in third place with a time of 1:52.80.
After the conclusion of the race, Mikaela spoke to Austrian TV, according to ESPN, Mikaela said:
"I don't feel very well, but that is not surprising at the end of a long stretch of races. And no matter what, Petra skied amazing tonight and she deserves the victory. Ideally, there is not story about how I'm feeling. I earned the second place and she earned the victory tonight, and that was quite an amazing show."
The interview was short as Mikaela Shiffrin went into the adjacent tent to the finish area to vomit as she was feeling worse than before, according to ESPN. On Sunday, Mikaela matched Lindsey Vonn's women's record of 82 victories by claiming victory during the giant slalom in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia.
Mikaela Shiffrin's head coach Mika Day also claimed that she wasn't feeling well even before the race. Mike Day said:
"It was good skiing, for sure not her best, but it was good skiing."
Though Mikaela Shiffrin's performance in Flachau wasn't her best, it was good skiing, according to her head coach. Around 13,200 fans were present to witness the race in Hermann Maier's hometown. He is one of Austria's most successful alpine skiers.
Another important fact is that Mikaela's idol and former Austrian Alpine skier was also present during the race. Mikaela Shiffrin had some words of praise for Petra. According to ESPN, she said:
"To be honest, I loved watching (Petra) ski this run. I think it was perfect combination of aggressive and also smart."
So far, the American Alpine skier has won four out of the seven slaloms this season and has a huge lead of 399 points over the Slovak Alpine Ski racer in the overall standings. Mikaela Shiffrin plans to sit out the event in St. Anton. It is another Austrian venue for skiing.
According to ESPN, her next attempt at breaking Vonn's record will be during the super-G in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, which is scheduled from January 20 to 22. After her victory in Flachau, Petra Vlhova shared a few words about her victory, according to the official website of the Olympics. Petra said:
"I am really happy because it was a long, long way to come back here and be speaking with you, so for me, it's an amazing day. I'm super happy to win here because it's something special."
Prior to this victory, Petra Vlhova had seven podium finishes this season without a single victory.
The Final Results after the FIS World Cup in Flachau
Final results for the women's slalom after the conclusion of the FIS World Cup. The results as posted on the official website of the Olympics.
- Petra Vlhova, SVK, 1:51.95
- Mikaela Shiffrin, USA, 1:52.38
- Lena Duerr, GER, 1:52.80
- Wendy Holdener, SUI, 1:53.49
- Paula Moltzan, USA, 1:54.10
- Katharina Liensberger, AUT, 1:54:57
- Hanna Aronsson Elfman, SWE, 1:54.69
- Jessica Hilzinger, GER, 1:54.76
- Emma Aicher, GER, 1:55:06
- Thea Louise Stjernesund, NOR, 1:55.12