Mikaela Shiffrin just proved once again why she’s the undisputed queen of slalom: the American skiing sensation delivered a breathtaking second-run masterclass to storm from fourth place and snatch her sixth consecutive World Cup slalom victory on a brutally choppy night course in Austria.
Clocking a blistering 53.58 seconds in the floodlit second run, Shiffrin posted a combined time of 1:48.82 to edge Switzerland’s Camille Rast by a razor-thin 0.09 seconds. Rising Albanian teen star Lara Colturi rounded out the podium in third, 0.57 seconds back.
The 30-year-old remains perfect in slalom this 2025-26 season – a flawless 5-for-5 – while extending her streak that began with last season’s finale in Sun Valley. This triumph pushes her all-time World Cup wins to a record 106, cementing her legacy as the most dominant skier in history.
“Today was hard,” Shiffrin admitted post-race. “You can see the skiing from these women – it was really tough conditions. I did my best possible run.”
The Panorama course lived up to its ruthless reputation, with soft, rutted snow testing every competitor. Shiffrin, trailing by 0.54 seconds after a cautious first run, unleashed pure aggression under the lights to overturn the deficit – her largest comeback margin in over a decade.
Just weeks before the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics kick off on February 8, Shiffrin is hitting peak form. After a medal-less Beijing 2022 where she raced every event, she’s vowed a smarter approach this time, zeroing in on her strongest disciplines – slalom chief among them.
Up next: Three more World Cup slaloms, starting in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, next week. If Shiffrin keeps this fire burning, Olympic gold feels inevitable.
GOAT status: Confirmed. 🇺🇸
