Mikaela Shiffrin earned her third podium of the young FIS Alpine Ski World Cup season this past weekend. This time, she did it in front of more-than 18,500 stoked-to-the-max fans at Vermont’s Killington Ski Resort. It’s the third time in three years she’s won the women’s slalom at Killington.
As if American ski racing had anything left to prove, she was able to overcome some unease to win despite “sloppy snow” and fog.
“There were a couple points on the course where I wasn’t actually sure if I was still on the course, but I kept my skis moving and then I was like: ‘I’m in the finish!’ It worked!”
A record-breaking number of fans showed up over the weekend to support the Avon, Colorado native, and it wasn’t lost on her.
“I could hear them [the fans] from the start. It was deafening,” said Shiffrin according to a U.S. Ski and Snowboard writeup. “The crowd really carried me down the hill and it’s just amazing to race here in front of everybody. The atmosphere is just so incredible and it’s really, really a special race.”
Shiffrin held a .29 lead after her first heat and was able to maintain her spot on the way to her 45th FIS World Cup Win and 34th slalom win. For the first time in years, two other American skiers joined Shiffrin on a second run, Coloradan Nina O’Brien and Vermont’s own Paula Moltzan.
Skiing’s slalom SUPERSTAR (🤩) makes it a 🎩 trick at @KillingtonMtn‼️
Olympic 🥇 medalist @MikaelaShiffrin scorches the slopes to claim her third victory in three years at Killington, adding another win to her @fisalpine World Cup Tour tally. #BeastWorldCup pic.twitter.com/imt0ZdptVC
— Team USA (@TeamUSA) November 25, 2018
Shiffrin’s success in the slalom event may have caused some to overlook her success in the Super-G, where she took 4th place, helping her to maintain her overall FIS World Cup lead.
All told, nearly 40,000 took in last weekend’s festivities at Killington.
