Mikaela Shiffrin wins today's Giant Slalom claiming her first gold in the discipline at a World Championship. Previously Shiffrin has claimed two silver in St. Moritz 2017 and Cortina 2021, and one bronze in Åre 2019.
She joins Andrea Mead-Lawrence (1952, at the Olympic Games), and Diann Roffe-Steinrotter (1985) as the only women representing United States to have won the Giant Slalom world title.
Mikaela Shiffrin has won 13 career medals at the World championships, including seven titles (G7-S3-B3). Only Christel Cranz (15) have claimed more world championships medals than Shiffrin (13). Only Cranz (12), have won more world titles than Shiffrin. With seven wins the US skier is now tied with Anja Pärson, Marielle Goitschel, Marcel Hirscher, and Toni Sailer.
"I'm very emotional right now. At the World Cup final last year I was leading too and lost so much time and I thought it would happen to me again. I've never been so nervous. I've tried to block it all out, there's too much stuff I'm thinking about right now. The most important thing is to keep the focus. I was skiing at the limit. I know how close it can be and I knew how hard I had to push and I didn’t know if I could do it", said Shiffrin.
Federica Brignone finished in second place 0.12 seconds behind Shiffrin. It's her second medal at the World Championships. She won the Women's world title in the Alpine Combined on 6 February.
For Brignone, who spent the previous days in her sick bed fighting flu, silver was a remarkable achievement.
“Being sick was my strength today. I really could focus, I was so happy to be here and to be out again and to be racing. When you train a lot you stress a lot and you think about the race, the race, the race and you have it on your mind and today, I was completely free and just thinking about my skiing", Brignone said.
Ragnhild Mowinckel rounded out the Giant Slalom World Championships podium in third place +0.22 seconds behind Shiffrin. It's her second medal in a World Championship. She won the bronze medal in the Alpine Combined in Åre 2019.
"The feeling is amazing, incredibly beautiful. I tried everything, it was difficult. I saw the others and they were incredibly fast, so I was like 'all or nothing'. I'm super satisfied. In the first run I lost at the top and in the middle part, in the second I tried to keep up the pace", said Mowinckel.
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