Shiffrin Skis to Best Season Ever

LENZERHEIDE, Switzerland (March 16) – Sunday’s conclusion to the Audi FIS Alpine World Cup season saw Olympic slalom champion Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, CO) close out her best season ever with a 12th-place finish in the foggy giant slalom finale. Anna Fenninger of Austria cut through the clouded, misty top section to seal the victory, which earned her the World Cup giant slalom title to put alongside the overall globe she won before today’s race. Universal Sports is set to air race coverage of the finale at 7:00 p.m. EDT. Next up, Shiffrin heads to Squaw Valley to race giant slalom and fight to regain her slalom title at the Nature Valley U.S. Alpine Championships next week, March 19-23.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Sunday’s conclusion to the Audi FIS Alpine World Cup season saw Olympic slalom champion Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, CO) close out her best season ever with a 12th-place finish in the foggy giant slalom finale.
• Shiffrin ended the season ranked sixth overall and seventh in giant slalom after earning her second consecutive slalom globe Saturday as well as her first Olympic gold medal in February.
• Anna Fenninger of Austria cut through the clouded, misty top section to seal the victory Sunday, which earned her the World Cup giant slalom title to put alongside the overall globe she won before today’s race. Swedish skiers Jessica Lindell-Vikarby and Maria Pietilae-Holmner were second and third for the season in giant slalom.
• Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany and Lara Gut rounded out the World Cup overall podium in second and third.
• Veteran Julia Mancuso (Squaw Valley, CA) did not race Sunday, but finished her season ranked 15th for both super G and downhill and then 23rd in the overall. She also has an Olympic super combined bronze medal to add to her collection.
• Stacey Cook (Mammoth Mountain, CA) gained momentum throughout the season, tying Mancuso for 15th in the super G standings, posting 18th in downhill and then finishing 28th overall.
• Olympian Leanne Smith (North Conway, NH) also produced a solid year with 19th in super G for the season and 30th in downhill.
• Universal Sports is set to air race coverage of Sunday’s finale at 7:00 p.m. EDT.
• Next up, Shiffrin heads to Squaw Valley to race giant slalom and fight to regain her slalom title at the Nature Valley U.S. Alpine Championships next week, March 19-23.

QUOTES
Mikaela Shiffrin
Every part of the season was pretty special. The whole year again was a learning experience, so I’m just really excited to wrap it up healthy and strong and feeling excited for next year.

U.S. Championships just feels like going home. Going to Nationals at the end of every year just brings me back to the ground. I’ve had such an amazing season, but it’s nice to remember all my friends and all the coaches that I’ve seen and had along the way. It’s a really nice place to compete too. So, it’s going to be a nice week. Then I get to really go home and have a perfect end to the season.

Alex Hoedlmoser
It’s very impressive to have somebody like Mikaela repeating that title. What was most amazing was how she did it. She was dominant. It’s really nice to see that she had an amazing year again, which is unheard of with an athlete that young being an Olympic champion, World Champion and two-time globe winner. Obviously we are really happy about that.

What I really saw in her skiing this year is that she made huge steps in GS and was competitive there–had a couple of podiums. That’s something we’re going to keep on working. She is probably going to be a consistent skier on the GS podiums too.

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