The upcoming women’s slalom race at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics is set to feature an exciting duel between Mikaela Shiffrin and her Swiss counterpart Camille Rast. Rast recently broke Shiffrin’s winning streak by defeating her by a narrow margin of 0.14 seconds in a World Cup slalom event in Slovenia. Despite Rast leading after the first leg in Austria last week, Shiffrin managed to make a remarkable comeback on a challenging course to secure the victory.
Rast, the reigning slalom world champion, clinched her fourth career win and third in slalom, maintaining her lead in the second run to emerge victorious. Shiffrin praised Rast’s strong skiing performance and acknowledged the intense competition between them. The American skier expressed satisfaction with her own performance and highlighted her focus on technical aspects during the race.
Rast’s triumph in Slovenia followed her first-ever giant slalom win on the same hill, dedicated to the victims of a recent tragedy near her hometown. The Swiss skier credited her success to her dedicated preparation, describing the slope conditions as excellent and emphasizing the importance of energy in achieving victory.
The competition saw Rast and Shiffrin dominating the field, with Wendy Holdener, Rast’s teammate, finishing in third place, trailing by a significant 1.83 seconds. Shiffrin’s teammate, Paula Moltzan, secured fourth place, closely behind the leaders. Shiffrin, a decorated skier with numerous titles to her name, set records with her impressive performance, adding to her career wins in slalom and overall World Cup events.
As the athletes prepare for the next challenges, the focus shifts to the upcoming night race in Flachau on Jan. 13, followed by the final slalom event before the Olympics in the Czech Republic on Jan. 25. Meanwhile, a series of downhill and super-G races are scheduled in Zauchensee next weekend, with the men’s World Cup races on hold for the time being.
