Shiffrin's bid for 6th win on home snow off to good start

Sun, Nov 27, 2022
Other News (AP)

KILLINGTON, Vt. (AP) - Overall World Cup champion Mikaela Shiffrin of the United States was fastest in the first run of a slalom on Sunday as she remained on course for a third straight win in the discipline and a sixth on home snow.

Cheered on by a passionate crowd, Shiffrin posted a time of 52.29 seconds on the course in Killington, Vermont, to take a lead of 0.21 over Switzerland's Wendy Holdener, who is bidding to end a lengthy wait for a first slalom win.

Katharina Liensberger of Austria was third, just one hundredth of a second further back, while Olympic champion and last season's World Cup slalom winner Petra Vlhova was 0.31 slower than Shiffrin.

While Shiffrin hails from Vail, Colorado, she can almost consider Killington a hometown race as she honed her skills nearby at the Burke Mountain Academy as a teenager.

Shiffrin, who has won all five World Cup slaloms held there, won the two season-opening slalom races last weekend.

It would be a 50th slalom victory for Shiffrin. No other skier has won more titles in a single competition than the 27-year-old.

In contrast, Holdener is still seeking her first slalom win after finishing on the podium 30 times. It's the most World Cup podium finishes without a win in the discipline.

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