Today’s podium: Mikaela Shiffrin 1st, Camille Rast 2nd, Emma Aicher 3rd. | Image: FIS Alpine
A tricky day with poor visibility on the upper section of the course set the tone for the women’s Slalom in Spindlerův Mlýn, Czechia—but for Mikaela Shiffrin, conditions were no obstacle. Starting first, the American once again demonstrated she is operating on an entirely different level, laying down a performance that effectively decided the race before it had properly begun. Rounding out the podium were Switzerland’s Camille Rast and Germany’s Emma Aicher.
Run 1: Shiffrin Sets an Impossible Pace
Shiffrin opened the race from bib 1 and immediately set what proved to be an impossible pace. Skiing with trademark aggression and precision, she attacked the course despite limited visibility and tricky combinations near the top. “I felt really good on the first run, it was good skiing,” Shiffrin said afterward in an interview with FIS. “A little bit of risk, which was exciting. There’s one combination which is tricky visually.”
Germany’s Lena Dürr in bib 2 struggled to match the tempo, falling nearly 2.5 seconds behind. Lara Colturi’s podium hopes came to an abrupt end when the 19-year-old recorded a DNF—perhaps a sign that the pressure of the impending Olympic Games, her first, is beginning to weigh after a promising early season.
Mikaela Shiffrin celebrating her 71st Slalom victory. | Image: Mikaela Shiffrin
Team USA’s Paula Moltzan was unable to keep pace with her teammate, crossing the line 1.66 seconds behind Shiffrin, while Camille Rast in bib 5 matched Moltzan to the millisecond. Austria’s Katharina Truppe slotted in behind them, more than two seconds back, as Wendy Holdener squeezed into the large gap behind Shiffrin, finishing 1.26 seconds back in second place.
With the top seven-ranked skiers—who benefit from a separate bib lottery—out of the way, the question became whether anyone could disrupt the leading group of Shiffrin, Holdener, Rast, and Moltzan. That call was answered by Emma Aicher. Starting ninth, the German all-rounder delivered a standout run to jump into third place, bumping Moltzan and Rast into a tie for fourth.
Another notable performance came from Team USA’s Nina O’Brien in bib 28, who skied into seventh behind Sweden’s Anna Swenn Larsson, rounding out the top seven qualifiers for run two. Only the top 30 advanced, with AJ Hurt qualifying in 16th from bib 30.
Mikaela Shiffrin at course inspection. | Image: Mikaela Shiffrin
Run 2: Chaos Below, Control Above
A total of 31 skiers qualified for run two after Bianca Bakke Westhoff from Norway and Emilia Mondinelli from Italy tied for 30th. Westhoff opened the second run after qualifying from bib 46 and delivered the ninth-fastest second run of the day, gaining valuable FIS points ahead of the Olympics and catapulting herself into 18th overall. She held the leader’s position through nine skiers.
Austria’s Katharina Gallhuber eventually unseated her, but was promptly beaten by Liv Moritz from Team USA, who took the lead by 0.14 seconds and secured her first-ever FIS World Cup points with an impressive 13th-place finish. Moritz’s time stood briefly before France’s Marion Chevrier edged her by just 0.04 seconds. That mark held until Austria’s Katharina Huber moved into the lead, only to be decisively beaten by teammate Katharina Truppe, who surged ahead by 0.70 seconds with a combined time of 1:40.50.
It took eight skiers to finally topple Truppe, with Camille Rast edging the Austrian by more than half a second. But behind her, the race unraveled for several contenders.
Nina O’Brien was leading by half a second on the top section before bleeding time and sliding out just before the finish—an especially painful DNF for the American, who was on track for a career-best result. Paula Moltzan suffered a similar fate, holding nearly a one-second advantage over Rast before straddling a gate and ending her podium bid.
With Rast in the lead, three skiers remained. Emma Aicher followed but appeared conservative, finishing half a second behind the Swiss skier—likely prioritizing a clean finish over risk. Wendy Holdener then struggled from the start, bleeding time immediately and ultimately dropping behind both Aicher and Truppe.
Mikaela Shiffrin claimed her 108th World Cup victory. | Image: Mikaela Shiffrin
Last to go was Shiffrin. With a 1.66-second lead from run one, the American skied with composure and precision, maintaining control through the tricky second-run combination that had troubled many. “The combination on the second run today – I was a little bit concerned I was going to mess it up,” Shiffrin admitted in an interview with FIS. But she didn’t. Shiffrin crossed the line 1.67 seconds ahead of Rast, sealing another dominant victory.
The win marked Shiffrin’s 108th World Cup victory, her 71st in Slalom, and secured her ninth career Slalom Crystal Globe—a feat she achieved despite only needing to finish seventh on the day. It was also deeply symbolic: Spindlerův Mlýn was the site of her first-ever World Cup start as a 15-year-old. “Sometimes it’s just a feeling you get in a place,” Shiffrin said. “It feels comfortable… and of course my first World Cup was here, so it’s nostalgic.”
Emma Aicher spraying Mikaela Shiffrin with champagne at the presentation. | Image: FIS Alpine
Shiffrin now leads both the Slalom and Overall standings decisively, with 780 Slalom points—nearly 300 ahead of Rast—and 1,133 overall points, 170 ahead of Rast and 449 ahead of Aicher. “I don’t have so many words right now,” Shiffrin said. “This whole day I was not really thinking about the Globe.” It is her ninth Slalom Crystal Globe.
The next women’s Slalom will be contested at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games, where Shiffrin will aim to turn dominance into Olympic redemption.
Mikaela Shiffrin hugging Emma Aicher in the finish area. | Image: FIS Alpine