Alpine skiing
Shiffrin falls and doesn’t break 100 yet – Camille Rast gets on the podium again
Sweden’s Sara Hector wins the Killington giant slalom ahead of Croatia’s Zrinka Ljutic. The favored Mikaela Shiffrin falls and is eliminated in the second run – this benefits Camille Rast, who is back on the podium after Gurgl.
Mikaela Shiffrin crashes in the second run in Killington.
Robert F. Bukaty / AP
The setting would have been perfect. Ski to her 100th World Cup victory in front of the home crowd at the giant slalom in Killington, USA, be celebrated in the finish area as perhaps the greatest female skier in history and prove once again that no one can currently compete in her league.
It is undisputed that Mikaela Shiffrin is currently the strongest skier in the women’s ski circuit. The 29-year-old has been competing in the World Cup since 2011. She won the overall World Cup five times, won eleven small crystal balls and stood on the World Cup podium 154 times, to name just a few of the impressive numbers that the American has achieved in her career.
After she won the slalom in Gurgl last weekend with an outstanding performance and thus achieved her 99th World Cup victory, everything looked as if Shiffrin would also reach the magical mark of 100 World Cup victories a week later.
Still attacking and hungry for victory in the first run, it was clear in the second run how Mikaela Shiffrin didn’t ski down the slope with the same self-confidence. As soon as she entered the steep slope she seemed a little unsteady, slipped for a short time and landed in the safety net. The crowd of home fans who had been looking forward to their superstar’s performance since early in the morning fell silent. The uncertainty about how serious the fall was also limited the athletes’ joy on the podium.
I’m third again, but I’m not really happy yet
As was the case a week ago in Gurgl, Camille Rast was among the three drivers. It is her second World Cup podium in a week. “It’s kind of unbelievable,” said the 25-year-old after the race. «It’s obviously nice to achieve my first podium in the giant slalom. But the emotions were a bit strange. We watched Mikaela drive and just hoped nothing bad happened.”
Camille Rast is the woman of the moment in Swiss skiing, which is no coincidence. She has worked hard to become a top athlete and is celebrating her first major successes this year. At the age of 17, the Valais woman wanted her parents to sell her skiing equipment and was at the end of her young career (link to article by François). Now, eight years later, after so many setbacks and comebacks, she has reached the top.
Rast also benefited from her first World Cup podium last week in the USA: “When things are going well, it is always easier to go to the next races and start with confidence. That worked very well today.”
She didn’t have much time or opportunity to prepare for the race in advance. “Since the World Cup in Sölden, we have only trained in the giant slalom twice,” says the 25-year-old. “But that shows me that the level is there and I have to keep going.”
Lara Gut-Behrami is back
Lara Gut-Behrami also started the season a little late on Saturday. Five weeks ago in Sölden, Gut-Behrami was suffering from knee problems and the flu, which is why her start to the season was pushed back a bit. Even with her experience, the Ticino native couldn’t make up for all the training kilometers and missed sessions on the slopes this weekend. She had to complain about some imperfections in her driving style here and there and finished the race in 13th place. In front of her was Wendy Holdener, who was able to improve after a weak first run and ultimately finished the race in twelfth place.
