Drama exploded at the Semmering World Cup slalom as Mikaela Shiffrin clawed her way to yet another victory – her sixth straight slalom win – but not without massive controversy!
The American superstar, starting fourth after the first run, got 15 extra minutes to inspect the revised second-run course after organizers made a last-minute change due to the brutal, crumbling snow that wiped out nearly half the field.
Only Shiffrin and one other racer (Dzenifera Germane) got the bonus time – while everyone else, including runner-up Camille Rast (who lost by just 0.09 seconds!), had already finished inspecting the old setup.
Swiss-Ski coaches were furious! Head coach Beat Tschuor blasted it as an unfair edge and revealed they seriously considered protesting Shiffrin’s win. In the end, they backed off after organizers explained… but the damage was done.
Now, Shiffrin is firing back hard on Instagram:
“None of this was about gaining an advantage… It should have been caught earlier so EVERYONE could inspect the same, correct course.”
She doubled down on slamming the “borderline unsafe” conditions that caused a 50% DNF rate – the worst in decades – leaving racers “frustrated, shaken, and scared.”
Shiffrin insists the course tweak was necessary for safety (after complaints, including possibly hers), but the timing was a total mess that sparked “questions about fairness.”
The ski world is DIVIDED: Was this blatant favoritism toward the GOAT… or just reactive chaos on a dangerous hill that needed fixing ASAP?
One thing’s clear – this race is the talk of the slopes! Do YOU think Shiffrin’s win was legit, or should it have been protested?
