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FLACHAU, Austria (AP) — Mikaela Shiffrin didn’t want to slow down even after the race.
The American ski star, who had just defeated her biggest slalom rival in the Women’s World Cup night race on Tuesday, was still rushing to contact her boyfriend, Alexander Ahmot Kilde, who is recovering from surgery.
“I want to call Alex right now. He should be trying to go to bed right now. Just checking on him,” Shiffrin said after texting her partner from her cell phone. , he said.
Shiffrin celebrated an emotional victory over Slovakian skier Petra Vlhova in another thrilling duel of slalom rivalries.
This was Shiffrin’s 94th career victory, and came nine days after she failed to finish. last slalom When I was fighting a cold in Slovenia and two days later. Visited her girlfriend Kilde in a hospital in Switzerland A Norwegian skier crashes downhill, dislocating his shoulder and sustaining a cut on his calf.
“It’s just emotional. This is just so emotional. I feel like I’ve lived a lifetime these past three days,” Shiffrin said.
The American ski star trailed Vlhova by 0.07 seconds after the first run, but set the second fastest time on the final run and won the race by 0.27 seconds.
Olympic giant slalom champion Sara Hector finished 1.11 behind in third place, marking the Swede’s first podium in slalom.
“I’m really proud of tonight and so grateful to the whole team,” said a tearful Shiffrin after the race, which also included her brother Taylor and sister-in-law Christy.
“The last few days have been difficult, but[my team]has been very supportive and helped me meet Alex.”
The path to the final showdown was set by Magnus Andersson, head coach of the U.S. Women’s Technology Team. Shiffrin made a mistake early in the run, but was able to beat her rivals in the remaining sections and put pressure on first-run leader Vlhova.
The Slovakian initially gained some time, but struggled from the middle of the course, missed wide on several turns and was slightly hampered by a gate that broke and rolled down the course after passing through it.
“Of course it’s not comfortable, but luckily it didn’t get stuck under my skis,” Vlois said. “I made a lot of mistakes and started losing position on the second run. If you want to win you need a perfect run. I knew she had a good run and I had it in me to push harder. I needed to find something.”
The outcome came as a relief to Shiffrin after a less-than-ideal preparation.
“It was a big push today. After Kranjska Gora, I was obviously disappointed, but I wanted to perform well here,” said the American, who won a record-extending 57th time in the slalom. Ta.
“At the end of the day, it also depends on some luck. She won the gate, but there were some parts that weren’t perfect for her and I made a mistake at the top. We both Both of us were pushing ourselves to the limit.”
Shiffrin said she had regained her strength after falling ill and missing the weekend’s three-race speed event in nearby Altenmark Sauchensee, but was affected by Kilde’s crash.
“I feel like I’m 100% healthy again, even though I haven’t had a lot of sleep the last few days, but it’s a different kind of thing,” Shiffrin said.
So far this season, Shiffrin has won four of the seven slalom events and Vlhova has won three, giving the American a 25-point lead over her rivals in the event standings.
Shiffrin’s teammate AJ Hart, who placed third in the previous slalom, posted a ninth-place time in the first run and was back on track in the second run, aiming to break into the top 10 again.
Another teammate, Paula Molzan, had the fastest start on the opening run, but suffered an awkward crash as she stepped over the gate, causing her left ski to go up in the air and forcing her to bend her leg to the side.
However, the Americans avoided injury.
“My knee is totally fine, I’m really lucky,” Moltzan said. “I feel like I have a bruise on my back because I just landed on my back on the pole. I’m lucky because I’m very flexible.”
Several lower-ranked skiers made it into the top 15, most notably Latvia’s Gennifera Germán, who started 50th and finished 8th, and will represent Albania, wearing bib 60 and finishing 9th. Lara Colturi was born in Italy.
The Women’s World Cup will be held this weekend in Yasna, near Vlhova’s hometown, with GS and slalom.
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AP Ski Details: https://apnews.com/hub/Skeing
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