It is always challenging to win Alpine World Cups. That said, some athletes know how to do it. Years of investment into their considerable talent make the impossible possible. They are the entertainers who bring fans to the sport.

Mikaela Shiffrin overcame a 0.55-second deficit in foggy conditions to win her fifth Levi Slalom for her 48th slalom victory. Not only did she win, but she also won by 0.26 of a second over Sweden’s Anna Swenn Larsson and 0.44 seconds faster than reigning World Cup Slalom Champion Petra Vlhova of Slovakia. When you win in a field skiing that well it is special.

“Yeah, this is amazing,” Shiffrin said. “Really strong skiing, really good final in that last bit of the pitch. Yeah, super cool.”

Shiffrin also won in 2013, ‘16, ’18 and ’19. Both Shiffrin and Vlhova have won five slalom events in the Finnish resort. No skier other than Vlhová or Shiffrin has won the traditional season-opening slalom since then-overall champion Tina Maze triumphed in 2014.

No one was counting Shiffrin out after the first run; she is one of the best in history. That fact alone makes the victories even more notable. Answering the pressure, again and again, is truly a trait of the amazing. No other skier has won more titles in a single competition. It the 75th World Cup win for the four-time overall champion. Only Swedish skiing great Ingemar Stenmark (86) and Vonn (82) have more.

Additionally, the Stifel US Alpine team has reason to be very encouraged by the performance of the other US skiers. World Cup rookie Ava Sunshine finished 21st in her first WC race. Scoring in your inaugural event is very uncommon. 

Additionally, all the US women who competed showed they had speed and deserved international respect. They will all be looking forward to Sunday’s race.

Unfortunately, Paula Moltzan and AJ Hurt were among 13 skiers who didn’t finish the opening round.

The Canadian team also had two women finish in the top 30. Both are products of the US NCAA skiing. Ali Nullmeyer, a Middlebury student, proved again that she is a member of the elite by finishing 14th and Amelia Smart, a graduate of the University of Denver, finished 27th after making a big mistake on the second run. 

Ali Nullmeyer knew she was in a good situation going into the first slalom. Nullmeyer says, “My preparation for today’s race was mainly focused on ensuring I was rested and ready to go! I’ve had a lot of really great training this summer so I was focused on the quality coming in. I’m really happy to get a solid result under my belt today and am excited to build on it tomorrow!”

Tomorrow is a new day and another race; however, there are good reasons to pay attention. The North American women are good. 

The organizers in Levi, which is located 110 miles north of the Arctic Circle, stored almost 60,000 cubic meters (almost 78,500 cubic yards) of snow on the resort’s Black slope in the spring to make sure the races take place.

Another slalom in Levi is scheduled for Sunday.

Top three Levi November 19th

Additional North Americans scoring World Cup points -Top 30

Complete results from Levi SL November 19th

Coverage courtesy of Associated Press & Ski Racing Media

This is a developing story, stay tuned for more.