Mikaela Shiffrin bags her 95th career World Cup victory at slalom event in Jasna
American skier Mikaela Shiffrin recently bagged her 95th career World Cup victory at the pet slalom event in Jasna, Slovakia, on January 21. With her recent win, she is now nine World Cups ahead of legendary skier Ingemar Stenmark. However, Shiffrin has yet to cross Stenmark’s podium finishes across all disciplines. The 28-year-old, who claimed the 150th podium of her career on Sunday, needs six more to do so.
At the slalom event, Mikaela Shiffrin was in her best form. She kickstarted the race with a 0.52s advantage ahead of Zrinka Ljutic of Croatia. In the end, the American skier’s winning time concluded at 1:48.21 with the Croatian skier achieving second place with just 0.14 behind Shiffrin. Moreover, Sweden’s Anna Swen Larrson finished third in 1:49.02.
Shiffrin later told FIS of her feelings of victory. She said:
"Today it was definitely a big push to keep all my energy going all the way through the second run,"
Shiffrin continued:
“It was not easy on the second run, and I felt the energy was gone…I knew she (Ljutic) put down an amazing run, and I had to push,” said the American skier.
Lastly, she remembered rival skier Petra Vlhova, who will have to miss the rest of the season due to Saturday’s knee injury at the giant slalom race.
“We are missing somebody really big today. We miss Petra a lot.”
Mikaela Shiffrin sends wishes to her rival Petra Vlhova
On Saturday, Slovakian skier Petra Vlhova suffered a knee injury that put an end to her run in the ongoing season. During the race, Petra Vlhova could not continue any longer after she lost balance while taking the left turn 14 seconds into her run.
Initially, Vlhova was adjusting her position and avoiding falling on the ski course. However, she eventually crashed at the ninth gate, injuring herself. Vlhova was immediately taken to the hospital for further treatment. Her team revealed that the 28-year-old had developed torn ligaments due to the crash. As a result, she will now have to miss the rest of the skiing season.
Moreover, the race saw Mikaela Shiffrin bagging the silver medal. She shared an Instagram post, expressing her happiness. Along with this, the skier also sent her wishes to Petra Vlhova for her journey ahead:
"All of my best to @petravlhova13 and her team…the sport will not be the same without your energy, beautiful skiing, and our battles, but I know you’ll come back hungrier and stronger," wrote Shiffrin.