Long may she ‘rein’: Shiffrin takes Levi win
Levi, Finland, looked like something out of a dream on Saturday for the first women’s World Cup slalom of the season. A cloudless blue sky was warmed by the glow of the sun, and frosted trees made fans and athletes wonder if they had walked into a Christmas card. To top it all off, Santa made an appearance at the bib draw the night before and the day’s winner walked away with a reindeer.
Unsurprisingly, Mikaela Shiffrin took the early lead, winning the first run by 0.72 seconds. In the second run, her competitors were able to close the gap, and she claimed victory by 0.67 seconds.
“I’m happy to be on this side of the day and know where I stand,” the American shared in the finish area. “I think these other girls, Wendy and Petra especially, are going to be really good competition this season, so I’m happy with where I’m at, but I’ve got to keep fighting.”
Shiffrin announced at the award ceremony that she would name her new reindeer, Sven, after the character in the movie Frozen. Shiffrin has now won 21 career World Cup races and two reindeer. She has been victorious in the last nine slalom races in which she participated. If the American keeps up this streak, she could break Janica Kostelic’s winning streak between December 1999 and February 2001 when she won 10 consecutive races that she started in.
Last year’s slalom globe winner Frida Hansdotter found herself in the second-place position after first run – tied with Switzerland’s Wendy Holdener. In the end, Hansdotter was unable to find the finish line after hooking her tip on a gate second run, leaving Holdener free to take second place for the day.
“The last two years I hadn’t [had] a good start, ” shared the Swiss athlete. “I had always problems in the beginning, and I wanted to change it. It worked, and I’m really happy.”
Rounding out the podium was Petra Vlhova, the Slovakian skier who had a breakout season last year, and she was 0.75 seconds off of the winning pace.
Maren Skjoeld of Norway – who started outside of the seed with bib 31 – landed her first top-five World Cup finish, and also won the second run. She was last season’s Europa Cup slalom and overall champion. Switzerland’s 18-year-old rising junior Melanie Meillard, who won the Youth Olympic Games giant slalom last season, also produced an impressive performance by moving from bib 40 to sixth place.
In addition to Shiffrin, Americans Resi Stiegler and Lila Lapanja kicked out of the start gate. Stiegler managed to snag a 16th-place finish, while Lapanja struggled to find her rhythm above the Arctic Circle and did not qualify for a second run. Canada’s top finisher for the day was Marie-Michele Gagnon, who earned a 17th place, while teammate Erin Mielzynski cracked the top 30 in 23rd.
Action continues tomorrow with the men’s slalom at Levi starting at 10 a.m. CET.
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Top 10
- Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) – Atomic / Atomic / Atomic
- Wendy Holdener (SUI) – Head / Head / Head
- Petra Vlhova (SVK) – Rossignol / Rossignol / Rossignol
- Veronika Velez Zuzulova (SVK) – Salomon / Solomon / Solomon
- Maren Skjoeld (NOR) – Voelkl / Marker / Dalbello
- Melanie Meillard (SUI) – Rossignol / Rossignol / Rossignol
- Sarka Strachova (CZE) – Fischer / Fischer / Fischer
- Nina Loeseth (NOR) – Rossignol / Rossignol / Rossignol
- Michelle Gisin (SUI) – Rossignol / Rossignol / Rossignol
- Carmen Thalmann (AUT) – Head / Head / Head
Official Results
| Rank | Bib | FIS Code | Name | Year | Nation | Run 1 | Run 2 | Total Time | Diff. | FIS Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | 6535237 | SHIFFRIN Mikaela | 1995 | USA | 56.09 | 56.62 | 1:52.71 | 0.00 | |
| 2 | 2 | 516280 | HOLDENER Wendy | 1993 | SUI | 56.81 | 56.57 | 1:53.38 | +0.67 | 4.28 |
| 3 | 4 | 705423 | VLHOVA Petra | 1995 | SVK | 56.98 | 56.48 | 1:53.46 | +0.75 | 4.79 |
| 4 | 3 | 705287 | VELEZ ZUZULOVA Veronika | 1984 | SVK | 57.42 | 56.89 | 1:54.31 | +1.60 | 10.22 |
| 5 | 31 | 425981 | SKJOELD Maren | 1993 | NOR | 58.07 | 56.45 | 1:54.52 | +1.81 | 11.56 |
| 6 | 40 | 516528 | MEILLARD Melanie | 1998 | SUI | 57.23 | 57.35 | 1:54.58 | +1.87 | 11.95 |
| 7 | 1 | 155415 | STRACHOVA Sarka | 1985 | CZE | 57.67 | 57.05 | 1:54.72 | +2.01 | 12.84 |
| 8 | 5 | 425771 | LOESETH Nina | 1989 | NOR | 57.72 | 57.15 | 1:54.87 | +2.16 | 13.80 |
| 9 | 9 | 516284 | GISIN Michelle | 1993 | SUI | 57.96 | 57.01 | 1:54.97 | +2.26 | 14.44 |
| 10 | 12 | 55977 | THALMANN Carmen | 1989 | AUT | 57.70 | 57.39 | 1:55.09 | +2.38 | 15.20 |
| 11 | 13 | 505760 | PIETILAE-HOLMNER Maria | 1986 | SWE | 57.82 | 57.30 | 1:55.12 | +2.41 | 15.40 |
| 12 | 21 | 206355 | DUERR Lena | 1991 | GER | 57.89 | 57.30 | 1:55.19 | +2.48 | 15.84 |
| 13 | 25 | 296259 | MOELGG Manuela | 1983 | ITA | 58.05 | 57.15 | 1:55.20 | +2.49 | 15.91 |
| 14 | 14 | 55759 | KIRCHGASSER Michaela | 1985 | AUT | 57.84 | 57.44 | 1:55.28 | +2.57 | 16.42 |
| 15 | 22 | 56315 | TRUPPE Katharina | 1996 | AUT | 58.63 | 56.76 | 1:55.39 | +2.68 | 17.12 |
| 16 | 10 | 537772 | STIEGLER Resi | 1985 | USA | 58.53 | 57.14 | 1:55.67 | +2.96 | 18.91 |
| 17 | 11 | 105269 | GAGNON Marie-Michele | 1989 | CAN | 58.14 | 57.65 | 1:55.79 | +3.08 | 19.68 |
| 18 | 27 | 565401 | BUCIK Ana | 1993 | SLO | 58.32 | 57.51 | 1:55.83 | +3.12 | 19.93 |
| 19 | 44 | 206536 | WALLNER Marina | 1994 | GER | 58.27 | 57.59 | 1:55.86 | +3.15 | 20.12 |
| 20 | 17 | 296509 | CURTONI Irene | 1985 | ITA | 58.17 | 57.70 | 1:55.87 | +3.16 | 20.19 |
| 21 | 26 | 515997 | FEIERABEND Denise | 1989 | SUI | 58.33 | 57.59 | 1:55.92 | +3.21 | 20.51 |
| 22 | 15 | 196726 | BARTHET Anne-Sophie | 1988 | FRA | 58.60 | 57.46 | 1:56.06 | +3.35 | 21.40 |
| 23 | 29 | 565320 | FERK Marusa | 1988 | SLO | 58.17 | 57.94 | 1:56.11 | +3.40 | 21.72 |
| 23 | 16 | 106961 | MIELZYNSKI Erin | 1990 | CAN | 58.79 | 57.32 | 1:56.11 | +3.40 | 21.72 |
| 25 | 51 | 516344 | KOPP Rahel | 1994 | SUI | 58.68 | 57.46 | 1:56.14 | +3.43 | 21.91 |
| 26 | 28 | 206487 | WIESLER Maren | 1993 | GER | 58.61 | 57.63 | 1:56.24 | +3.53 | 22.55 |
| 27 | 34 | 485637 | ALOPINA Ksenia | 1992 | RUS | 58.69 | 58.38 | 1:57.07 | +4.36 | 27.85 |
| 28 | 30 | 56367 | GALLHUBER Katharina | 1997 | AUT | 58.63 | 58.90 | 1:57.53 | +4.82 | 30.79 |
| Did not qualify for 2nd run | ||||||||||
| 62 | 185431 | TOIVIAINEN Julia | 1998 | FIN | ||||||
| 58 | 185430 | HONKANEN Riikka | 1998 | FIN | ||||||
| 57 | 665009 | SHKANOVA Maria | 1989 | BLR | ||||||
| 56 | 385096 | POPOVIC Leona | 1997 | CRO | ||||||
| 53 | 107613 | GRENIER Valerie | 1996 | CAN | ||||||
| 50 | 555018 | GASUNA Lelde | 1990 | LAT | ||||||
| 48 | 155728 | DUBOVSKA Martina | 1992 | CZE | ||||||
| 47 | 196803 | MOUGEL Laurie | 1988 | FRA | ||||||
| 46 | 56253 | HUBER Katharina | 1995 | AUT | ||||||
| 45 | 516504 | DANIOTH Aline | 1998 | SUI | ||||||
| 43 | 56217 | BRUNNER Stephanie | 1994 | AUT | ||||||
| 42 | 315187 | IGNJATOVIC Nevena | 1990 | SRB | ||||||
| 41 | 56174 | HAASER Ricarda | 1993 | AUT | ||||||
| 37 | 107427 | ST-GERMAIN Laurence | 1994 | CAN | ||||||
| 36 | 539927 | LAPANJA Lila | 1994 | USA | ||||||
| 33 | 485802 | TKACHENKO Ekaterina | 1995 | RUS | ||||||
| 32 | 206701 | WILLIBALD Elisabeth | 1996 | GER | ||||||
| 24 | 56143 | GRUENWALD Julia | 1991 | AUT | ||||||
| 20 | 206279 | GEIGER Christina | 1990 | GER | ||||||
| 19 | 506341 | WIKSTROEM Emelie | 1992 | SWE | ||||||
| 8 | 56032 | SCHILD Bernadette | 1990 | AUT | ||||||
| Did not finish 2nd run | ||||||||||
| 18 | 506146 | SWENN-LARSSON Anna | 1991 | SWE | ||||||
| 6 | 505679 | HANSDOTTER Frida | 1985 | SWE | ||||||
| Did not finish 1st run | ||||||||||
| 66 | 185447 | KORPIO Nella | 1999 | FIN | ||||||
| 65 | 185403 | MAKINEN Janina | 1996 | FIN | ||||||
| 64 | 185354 | HIRVONEN Roosa | 1993 | FIN | ||||||
| 63 | 185411 | LUUKKO Nea | 1996 | FIN | ||||||
| 61 | 56241 | SCHNEEBERGER Rosina | 1994 | AUT | ||||||
| 60 | 197616 | ALPHAND Estelle | 1995 | FRA | ||||||
| 59 | 297851 | AZZOLA Michela | 1991 | ITA | ||||||
| 55 | 299313 | PERRUCHON Martina | 1996 | ITA | ||||||
| 54 | 565471 | HROVAT Meta | 1998 | SLO | ||||||
| 52 | 155727 | CAPOVA Gabriela | 1993 | CZE | ||||||
| 49 | 25096 | GUTIERREZ Mireia | 1988 | AND | ||||||
| 39 | 197319 | BAUD MUGNIER Adeline | 1992 | FRA | ||||||
| 38 | 206532 | SCHMOTZ Marlene | 1994 | GER | ||||||
| 35 | 225525 | TILLEY Alexandra | 1993 | GBR | ||||||
| 23 | 296354 | COSTAZZA Chiara | 1984 | ITA | ||||||
About the Author: Gabbi Hall
