The Day – Something new for Shiffrin: A teammate challenges her

Cortina d’Ampezzo — Even when it wasn’t gold, Mikaela Shiffrin’s thirteenth medal at a significant championship felt totally different from all her earlier ones. 

For the primary time in a technical race, she had an American teammate subsequent to her competing for victory.

Shiffrin and Nina O’Brien had the 2 quickest instances within the opening run of the ladies’s big slalom on the world championships on Thursday.

Earlier than the second run, they stood shut on the hill inspecting the course. Shared a carry experience up the hill. And exchanged variety phrases earlier than snowboarding down, one after the opposite.

It felt like an unusual coaching session, relatively than the decisive run for gold.

Whereas O’Brien dropped to tenth, Shiffrin earned a silver medal behind Swiss winner Lara Intestine-Behrami to provide her one in all every coloration at these worlds — and together with her finest occasion, slalom, nonetheless to return.

In complete, Shiffrin now has 10 profession world championship medals to go along with three Olympic ones.

“I’ve by no means been on this place to have a look at my teammate once we’re each happening battling for a medal,” Shiffrin mentioned. “The final two racers with an opportunity for a medal is at all times a particular feeling however having your teammate there, it feels totally different. It’s actually cool.”

For the U.S. ski workforce this was a primary — however not a fluke.

In slalom and GS, it was all about Shiffrin for a few years. However the entire tech workforce is having a breakout season on the World Cup circuit, with a number of private bests for O’Brien, AJ Harm, and Paula Moltzan, who even had her first profession podium in Austria in November.

“I believe it’s actually cool and we’re fortunate to have Mikaela as our teammate for main the cost and galvanizing us all,” O’Brien mentioned. “Nevertheless it’s additionally enjoyable to see that this subsequent group of us can usher in some pace as effectively.”

Whereas Shiffrin works together with her personal teaching employees, the workforce trains collectively when schedules enable.

“It’s at all times tremendous productive and precious coaching together with her, simply watching her and speaking together with her about snowboarding,” O’Brien mentioned. “She’s obtained a fairly insane understanding of the game, like nobody else I do know.”

Shiffrin’s assist went past shared coaching at a World Cup GS in Austria final season, when she was quickest within the first run and took the carry again up the hill to assist late starter O’Brien.

Shiffrin briefly skilled the sensation of going head-to-head with a teammate for gold on the worlds two years in the past, when she and Lindsey Vonn aimed for the super-G victory.

Whereas Vonn crashed within the penultimate race of her profession, Shiffrin claimed the gold.

The rising energy of the tech workforce pleases Shiffrin.

“They’ve simply an incredible perspective, it’s a very nice ambiance now,” she mentioned. “It simply looks like we may be joyful for one another, push one another, and it’s simple. There isn’t any drama, it’s simply racing and snowboarding.”

Former teammate Sarah Schleper, who retired in 2011 however returned to the slopes and competes for Mexico on the worlds, hailed the influence of Shiffrin on the workforce.

“The U.S. workforce is again on monitor for achievement and I believe Mikaela has rather a lot to do with it,” Schleper mentioned. “It conjures up all of our youngsters again dwelling, which is nice. They simply see it’s a chance to make it right here and compete with the Europeans and be aggressive.”

Approaching her finest profession end result, O’Brien overcame a scare in between runs when her skis initially failed the usual gear check by organizers.

The Worldwide Ski Federation checks ski measurement and setup after every run primarily based on strict guidelines. Racers whose skis don’t meet the factors are disqualified.

There was a difficulty with the plate within the binding on one in all O’Brien’s skis, which exceeded the allowed peak by a mere 0.1 millimeters after a screw obtained free.

Finally, O’Brien was cleared to begin within the closing run.

“That was a bit little bit of drama,” she mentioned.

After going her total profession with no main championship title, Intestine-Behrami added a second gold medal to her burgeoning assortment from this 12 months’s worlds.

The Swiss skier made up her deficit to Shiffrin with a blistering closing leg to beat the American by two-hundredths of a second.

“GS has at all times been so essential for me in my total profession,” the Swiss skier mentioned. “I at all times knew that if I’m snowboarding effectively in GS then it’s simple to be quick even within the different disciplines.”

Katharina Liensberger of Austria was 0.09 behind in third in what was the closest end ever of a ladies’s big slalom on the worlds.