Shiffrin Shines Again With Second-Straight GS Win

SEMMERING, Austria (Dec. 28, 2016) – Wet, heavy snow can’t slow you down when you’re having fun. Just ask Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, CO), who battled through a snowstorm to win her second giant slalom in a row at the Audi FIS Ski World Cup Wednesday in Semmering.

“There was so much snow coming down, I could feel my skis in the track speeding up, and then coming out slowing down,” Shiffrin said.  “And I was like ‘oh, this isn’t good, it’s gotta be slow!’ So I kept fighting and fighting.”

Mikaela Shiffrin won her second-straight Audi FIS Ski World Cup giant slalom in Semmering, Austria, Tuesday. (Getty/Agence Zoom-Laurent Salino)

World Cup giant slalom leader Tessa Worley of France was second, followed by Germany’s Viktoria Rebensburg in third.  With the victory, Shiffrin is now 35 points behind Worley in the World Cup GS standings. In the overall World Cup standings, Shiffrin leads with 698 points. Switzerland’s Lara Gut, who was sixth Wednesday, is second with 583 points.

Skiing free and letting go has propelled Shiffrin to the top step of the podium the past two days in giant slalom.

“Before I was really trying to ski just a perfect run,” she said of earlier races in Killington, Vermont and Sestriere, Italy. “In these past few races I’ve thought ‘I have what I have’ and probably some of these other girls are better GS skiers than I am right now. But when I make really good turns, I think that I can win. So I just put what I have out there, don’t try to do anything more special than that, and also have some fun skiing good GS.”

Mikaela Shiffrin stands atop the podium in Semmering. (Getty Images/Agence Zoom-Laurent Salino)

Shiffrin takes her overall World Cup lead into Thursday’s evening slalom in Semmering where she’s be gunning for her 26^th World Cup victory, including her seventh-straight slalom win – one shy of the record eight-race slalom win streak held by Switzerland’s Vreni Schneider and Croatia’s Janica Kostelic.

“I’m not looking at the records,” Shiffrin said. “I’m just happy to have another giant slalom win. Two days ago I was wondering if I would ever win a GS again, and now I have three wins, so that is a really special feeling that I have. “

Up next, the ladies compete in an evening slalom on Thursday. Live streaming will be available on NBCsports.com/live starting at 9:00 a.m. EST.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Mikaela Shiffrin won her second-straight Audi FIS Ski World Cup giant slalom Wednesday in Semmering, Austria.
• World Cup giant slalom leader Tessa Worley of France finished second.
• Shiffrin goes for her seventh-straight slalom victory in Thursday’s evening slalom in Semmering.
• Resi Stielger (Jackson, WY) and Megan McJames (Park City, UT) did not qualify for a second run. 
• Road to Aspen: Shiffrin leads the overall World Cup standings with 698 points over Switzerland’s Lara Gut with 583 points

QUOTES
Mikaela Shiffrin
It was a big fight. There was so much snow coming down, I could feel my skis in the track speeding up, and then coming out slowing down.  And I was like ‘oh, this isn’t good, it’s gotta be slow.’ So I kept fighting and fighting.

I’m not looking at the records. I’m just happy to have another giant slalom win. Two days ago I was wondering if I would ever win a GS again, and now I have three wins, so that is a really special feeling that I have.

Before I was really trying to ski just a perfect run. In these past few races I’ve thought ‘I have what I have’ and probably some of these other girls are better GS skiers than I am right now. But when I make really good turns, I think that I can win. So I just put what I have out there, don’t try to do anything more special than that, and also have some fun skiing good GS.

I finally made really clean turns on the hill the past few days, which is unbelievable for me. It’s a huge milestone, so I’m really happy with that. I’m smiling more these past few days than I have all season so far.

[On winning two-straight GS races]
It’s two victories, but in the same place.  It would be nice to repeat it at a new venue, but it’s definitely nice to feel like I can ski free for four runs in a row.

BROADCAST AND LIVE STREAMING (times EST)
Wednesday, Dec. 28
4:30 p.m. – Semmering women’s giant slalom – UniversalHD

Thursday, Dec. 29
9:00 a.m. – Semmering women’s slalom – run 1 – nbcsports.com – LIVE STREAM
11:30 a.m. – Semmering women’s slalom – run 2 – LIVE on NBCSN and LIVE STREAM

RESULTS
Women’s giant slalom