Ski superstar Mikaela Shiffrin’s historic triumph is fast approaching. The 27-year-old American won the night slalom in Zagreb and celebrated her 81st World Cup title.
One success separates the exceptional athlete from her compatriot Lindsey Vonn, who retired in 2019 and who holds the all-time record for women. In the men’s category, former Swedish technical specialist Ingemar Stenmark leads the list with 86 victories.
Olympic champion Petra Vlhova of Slovakia finished second, 0.76 seconds back. Anna Swenn-Larsson (1.21) from Sweden took third place.
Dürr eliminated, Aicher buys World Cup ticket
Germany’s best slalom skier Lena Dürr got off to a bad start in the new year and was eliminated in the first round. The Germeringerin slipped away at the entrance to the final part, stood completely sideways and even had to trudge up the slope a bit. Emma Aicher, Jessica Hilzinger and Andrea Filser, on the other hand, scored points and finished 11th, 15th and 22nd. Aicher secured the World Cup ticket with her second top 15 result this winter.
A month before the World Cup in France, Shiffrin is still in top form. After the triple in Semmering, the exceptional athlete from Colorado secured her fourth success in a row. In the second Zagreb slalom on Thursday, the two-time Olympic champion can finally become the best ski racer in alpine history.
Temperatures around ten degrees Celsius made for borderline conditions on the Bärenberg. With every driver, the piste became more and more difficult, sometimes grass glistened through the artificial snow. 21 of 63 starters were eliminated in the first round.
