KILLINGTON, Vt. — Mikaela Shiffrin marked the return of the women’s World Cup to North America by setting yet another record — and the two-time Olympic champion did it Sunday on home snow.
Shiffrin beat Petra Vlhova — her main rival — for her 46th career win in slalom. That matched a 32-year-old record for most World Cup wins in a single discipline, set by Swedish great Ingemar Stenmark in giant slalom.
While the 26-year-old Shiffrin hails from Vail, Colorado, she can almost consider Killington a hometown race as she honed her skills nearby at the Burke Mountain Academy as a teenager.
Shiffrin trailed Vlhova by .20 seconds after the first run and, although she made an error at the top of her second run, a fantastic finish ensured she was still fastest on that second run.
Shiffrin lifted her arms over her head to soak in the cheers of the passionate home crowd before cupping her hand to her ear as she beamed broadly.
Then she turned to watch her rival.
Vlhova also made a mistake, and that cost her even more dearly than Shiffrin’s. The overall champion was almost a second slower than Shiffrin on the second run to ultimately finish .75 behind in second place.
Shiffrin, who had won all four previous World Cup slalom races in Killington, was in tears. Last year’s event was canceled because of the pandemic.
Wendy Holdener of Switzerland finished third, .83 behind Shiffrin.
Shiffrin moved 20 points ahead of Vlhova at the top of the overall World Cup standings.
Shiffrin won the season-opening giant slalom in Sölden, Austria, but finished second to Vlhova in both slalom races in Levi, Finland, last week.