Dec 28 (Reuters) – Mikaela Shiffrin recovered from a tentative opening run to produce a precise second one under the floodlights and win the women’s World Cup slalom in Semmering, Austria on Sunday.
Lying fourth and over half a second behind the leader after the first run, the American stormed back to beat Switzerland’s Camille Rast by 0.09 seconds, with Albania’s Lara Colturi finishing third.
It was Shiffrin’s 106th World Cup victory and sixth consecutive slalom triumph, five of them this season.
“It was a really hard day,” Shiffrin said. “The conditions were tough and it was a big fight. The pressure was on, but I managed to deliver the best run I could.”
The 30-year-old twice Olympic gold medallist will be among the favourites at next year’s Winter Games in Milano Cortina.
(Tommy Lund in Gdansk, editing by Ed Osmond)
