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Calling the victory bittersweet, Mikaela Shiffrin, the two-time Olympic champion, gained a World Cup large slalom on Monday in Courchevel, France, her first time atop an Alpine podium because the unintended dying of her father, Jeff, 10 months in the past.
“It was a fairly unbelievable day, clearly,” mentioned Shiffrin, who was in tears throughout interviews on the backside of the racecourse. “However I’m fairly unhappy. I imply, it’s a bit bittersweet.”
Shiffrin’s last World Cup victory was on Jan. 26 in a super-G in Bulgaria, a race attended by her father, who flew house to Colorado shortly thereafter. He died on Feb. 2, and Shiffrin, then the three-time defending World Cup total champion, didn’t compete once more for the remainder of the season.
Earlier than Monday, she had raced 3 times since late November, ending second, fourth and fifth. Whatever the outcomes, Shiffrin admitted she was melancholy after every occasion as a result of a favourite a part of her publish race ritual had been to debate the day and her efficiency together with her father.
“After all the pieces, I didn’t actually know if I might come again to this degree as a result of it’s a number of power to focus like that and to place the toughness and power in your snowboarding,” Shiffrin mentioned Monday. “I’ve completed it — I used to do it on a regular basis — however I’m at a unique place and didn’t know if I might do it once more.”
Monday’s win was the 67th World Cup victory for Shiffrin, 25, which ties her with the just lately retired Marcel Hirscher for third in profession wins for each women and men. Solely Ingemar Stenmark and Lindsey Vonn have extra victories, with 86 and 82, respectively. Shiffrin gained convincingly Monday, ending 0.82 seconds forward of Federica Brignone of Italy. France’s Tessa Worley was third, 0.27 seconds behind Brignone.
“I’m actually pleased with my snowboarding at present; it’s nonetheless fairly particular,” Shiffrin mentioned. “And it’s a very huge testomony to my coaches and my mother and everyone round me — my entire workforce and my household. I undoubtedly didn’t ski alone at present. I had a number of power from lots of people to assist me get down.”
Petra Vlhova, the present chief within the total World Cup factors standings, didn’t end her first run Monday. The ladies’s World Cup continues this weekend with downhill and super-G races in Val d’Isére, France.
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