KILLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — American ski racer Mikaela Shiffrin sits in first place after the first run of giant slalom Saturday as she chases her 100th career World Cup win.
Shiffrin finished her first run in 55.78 seconds to take a .32-second lead over reigning Olympic GS champion Sara Hector of Sweden. The U.S. had three other racers finish in the top 10 after the morning run: Paula Moltzan (sixth), Elisabeth Bocock (eighth) and Nina O’Brien (10th).
On a cold and windy day, thousands of fans cheered Shiffrin and her competitors down Killington’s Superstar course. Shiffrin has long struggled with the Killington GS — on a hill that she calls “quite a nuisance in GS.” But not on this day. She skied a virtual flawless first run.
“I’m so happy with that run,” Shiffrin said. “I can always be more aggressive, always. Everybody feels that. But I felt smooth and clean and so many of the things that I was hoping to feel. I’m excited for the opportunity on the second (run) to give it another go.”
Shiffrin has never won the Killington GS but has finished on the podium three times in six races.
A win would put the 29-year-old Shiffrin at 100 World Cup wins — a mark once thought unthinkable on the Alpine World Cup tour. A top-three finish would be her 155th World Cup podium and tie her with Swedish great Ingemar Stenmark for the most of all time. Shiffrin broke Stenmark’s Alpine record for most World Cup wins in March 2023 when she captured her 87th career race.
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