Shiffrin takes 2nd in return

Mikaela Shiffrin, racing for the first time since January, settled for second place behind Petra Vlhova in a World Cup slalom on Saturday but still “felt a lot of happiness” to finally get back in the start gate. “I enjoy a second place more than I did ever before,” said Shiffrin, a winner of 66 World Cup races, “because I felt I was pushing and having some good skiing. Itwas the best I could today. I feel I can be more proud of that than I used to be.” Vlhova, theWorldCupslalomchampionfromSlovakia, posted the fastest times in both runs to beat the American by 0.18 seconds in Finnish Lapland, north of the Arctic Circle. But for Shiffrin, the result wasn’t her biggest concern. “It’s been really hard to imagine being here again and racing. And being on the podium, that’s just something I almost didn’t dare to really imagine, because you don’t want to be disappointed again,” the doubleOlympic and three-time overall champion said. Shiffrin’s previous season ended prematurely after her father’s death. Thatwas followed by the cancellation of the season-ending races due to coronavirus.