Zrinka Ljutic clocked the fastest time in two slalom stages in Semmering, Austria, on Sunday to record the first World Cup victory by a Croatian since Janica Kostelic in 2006.
“It was my dream since I was little. We have to have a nice party when I get home,” she said upon arrival.
The 20-year-old was the fastest by just over half a second on a first-run course set by her father Amir.
As the course became rutted and bumpy in the second round, other late starters struggled.
Ljutic came in last as leader but showed no signs of nervousness. Aside from a mid-course crash, she raced down the course to win by a whopping 1.75 seconds.
“I felt everywhere,” said Ljutic, who had finished on the podium five times since 2023.
“I really didn’t know if I was fast enough, so I tried to push all the way. I really wanted to take this chance, and I did.
Germany’s Lena Duerr, second after the first run, struggled but held onto second place, a tenth of a second ahead of Austria’s Katharina Liensberger, who jumped from seventh to third with the second fastest time of the second round.
Switzerland’s Camille Rast, leader in the general classification and in the slalom World Cup, finished third in the first run, but slipped to fourth place.
Ljutic moved up to second overall and third in the slalom standings, behind Duerr.
