Mikaela Shiffrin wins women’s Slalom gold at Milano Cortina 2026

ROME: US Alpine skiing star Mikaela Shiffrin captured the women’s slalom gold on Wednesday, marking her first Olympic medal since 2018 and concluding the Milano Cortina Games with a dominant performance.

Shiffrin, the most successful World Cup skier in history with 108 victories, clocked a combined winning time of 1 minute 39.10 seconds, outpacing her rivals by a comfortable margin. Switzerland’s Camille Rast, the only skier to have beaten Shiffrin in World Cup competition this season, took silver, while Sweden’s Anna Swenn Larsson, 34, claimed bronze.

From the start, Shiffrin was in control. She led the first run by 0.82 seconds and extended her advantage to 1.5 seconds over Rast after the second run. The American had already won seven of eight World Cup slaloms this season, making her the overwhelming favourite, though the lack of Olympic medals in earlier events had intensified the pressure.

“This feels like a really big moment,” Shiffrin told NBC. “Of course, a medal and gold, that’s a dream come true. But at some point this week, I just said, like, stop dreaming. Just ski.”

Career 3rd Olympic gold

Wednesday’s victory gave Shiffrin her third Olympic title, adding to her 2014 slalom gold and 2018 giant slalom gold in PyeongChang, where she also earned a combined silver. She is now the first American female Alpine skier to win three Olympic golds. This win also marked the second gold for the US team at Cortina, following Breezy Johnson’s downhill triumph.

Germany’s Lena Duerr came within a second of Shiffrin after the first run, but her medal hopes ended when she straddled a gate on the second run. Sweden’s Cornelia Oehlund, initially third after the first run, also failed to finish after breaking a ski pole. Shiffrin, witnessing these setbacks, delivered a flawless second run, visibly emotional as she embraced her mother, Eileen Shiffrin, at the finish.

“I’m so happy to be able to do the right thing in the right moment,” Shiffrin said on camera.

Role underpressure

The 30-year-old had earlier spoken about the unrealistic narratives surrounding her sport, after finishing fourth in the team event and 11th in the giant slalom. Mistakes by others on Wednesday underscored the high stakes and the scrutiny athletes face.

“Shiffrin receives a lot of press, good and bad, and she’s very good at handling it. But it gets to somebody at some point if people are only saying bad things about you,” said teammate Paula Moltzan, who climbed from 28th after the first run to eighth. “We’re just human at the end of the day. Mistakes happen, and we get ripped apart by people that sit on the couch, and that sucks.”

For Rast, the silver medal was her first Olympic medal, while Swenn Larsson’s bronze made her the oldest female Olympic Alpine medallist this Games. “It’s my last Olympics… for sure I am not here in four years, so it feels extra special to put it together today,” said the Swede.