Under the dazzling floodlights of the iconic Hermann Maier course, Mikaela Shiffrin reclaimed her throne in women’s slalom with a commanding victory at the FIS World Cup night race, securing her record-extending 107th career World Cup win and her 70th in the discipline—making her the first skier ever to reach that milestone.
The American superstar clocked a combined time of 1:50.52, powering through both runs with precision and speed to finish 0.41 seconds ahead of her U.S. teammate Paula Moltzan in second place. Austria’s Katharina Truppe rounded out the podium in third, 0.65 seconds back, thrilling the home crowd with her first World Cup podium on Austrian snow.
Here are some highlights from the podium celebrations:
The electric atmosphere was impossible to ignore, with fans lining the slopes all the way up the hill, creating footprints in the snow and roaring throughout the race.
Shiffrin, who bounced back strongly after a rare second-place finish in Kranjska Gora, praised the massive turnout:
“That was exciting… This is insane how many people are here. It’s so cool! Thank you for coming. This crowd tonight was… I mean you can see the footprints all the way up the side of the slope. That was special.”
She also highlighted lessons from her recent “loss,” noting improved high-speed comfort in slalom:
“Something I learned from Kranjska Gora is how important it is to get more comfortable with high speed in Slalom… There were even moments then when I was like kind of closing my eyes and hoping for it to be over a bit.”
The U.S. 1-2 finish was a highlight of the night, with Shiffrin beaming about sharing the success with Moltzan:
“It’s amazing to share this with Paula. Podiums with team-mates is the best thing in the world… I dream about your first win and I just hope to gosh that I can share the podium with you.”
Moltzan, earning her first slalom podium of the season and eighth career World Cup podium overall, echoed the sentiment:
“First Slalom podium of the year, it feels like a bit long-awaited but I’m very grateful… I love being on the podium with my team-mates. To go on my third Slalom podium with Mikaela is, as always, truly incredible.”
Check out this heartwarming moment between the teammates:
Mikaela Shiffrin, Paula Moltzan go 1-2 in World Cup slalom as …
The boisterous Austrian crowd kept the energy high until the very end, with green lights flashing for multiple top finishers, including fourth-place Camille Rast (SUI).
Shiffrin, who has now won six of her last seven slaloms and six times at Flachau (podium in 11 straight appearances since a 2011 DNF), leads the slalom standings with 680 points. With only one more race before the Olympic break in Špindlerův Mlýn on January 25, she’s poised to clinch the crystal globe and heads into the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics (starting February 6) as the overwhelming favorite.
The floodlit magic of Flachau delivered once again—pure alpine excitement under the stars!
