Mikaela Shiffrin turned Copper Mountain into her personal playground on Sunday, torching the women’s World Cup slalom by a cartoonish 1.57 seconds in front of 11,000 delirious, flag-waving fans and officially stamping her visa for Milano-Cortina 2026.
The final time gap – 1:48.57 – felt almost disrespectful. Germany’s Lena Dürr, no slouch herself, took second and still lost by more than the length of the entire finish area. Nineteen-year-old phenom Lara Colturi (Albania) grabbed third at +1.85, and the rest of the field basically raced for fourth.
This was Shiffrin’s 104th World Cup victory, her 67th in slalom, her 12th on U.S. snow, and her third straight blowout of the season (all by over a second). In other words: normal Sunday stuff when you’re the greatest of all time.
From the moment she exploded out of the start house in lightly falling snow, the result was never in doubt. Fastest first run by daylight. Flawless second run in worsening conditions. The crowd – the biggest ever for a U.S. women’s race – erupted so loud that Shiffrin said she could hear them from the top of the pitch.
“Honestly, that energy carried me,” she laughed afterward, eyes still red from the adrenaline and the cold. “I’ve never felt anything like it on home snow.”
With the win, Shiffrin checked every box on the U.S. Ski Team’s Olympic nomination criteria. Fourth Winter Games: confirmed. Defending Olympic slalom champion: returning. Queen of the hill: still wearing the crown.
American Paula Moltzan backed her up with a strong eighth, but Sunday belonged to one skier and one skier only.
Next stop: Europe. Then Italy in February. The rest of the world just got put on notice – in the loudest way possible.
Milano-Cortina 2026, start engraving that slalom gold now.
