Shiffrin dominates slalom, 1 win away from World Cup record
Mikaela Shiffrin celebrated with a shoulder wiggle and a bright smile Saturday after dominating a slalom at Spindleruv Mlyn, Czech Republic, and moving within one victory of the 34-year-old World Cup record of 86 wins.
The American showed no signs of pressure, a day before another slalom in which she could match the best mark set by Swedish great Ingemar Stenmark in the 1980s.
“I don’t feel a lot of pressure to get this record.
Now, I am so close that it’s like just take a breath and enjoy the moments we are in now,” Shiffrin said.
She had shared the women’s record of 82 wins with former teammate Lindsey Vonn before triumphing at back-to-back giant slaloms in Italy this week and adding career win 85 on Saturday.
Elsewhere: Swiss skier Marco Odermatt won a men’s World Cup super-G at Cortina D’Ampezzo,
Italy, in a triumphant return from his injury layoff, 10 days before the start of the world championships. Odermatt skipped two races last week to rest a sore left knee but the defending overall champion was back to his best on the scenic Olympia delle Tofane course, beating his Norwegian rival Aleksander Aamodt Kilde by 0.35 seconds.
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Figure skating: Teen star Isabeau Levito needed a near-flawless free skate to capture gold at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships at San Jose, California, late Friday after Bradie Tennell’s beautiful performance minutes earlier. And the 15-year-old Levito accomplished just that, delivering a dazzling 149.55 score for a 223.33
Atotal to win her first women’s national championship. Two-time U.S. champion Tennell scored a 139.36 in the free skate and finished second with a 213.12 total.
... Madison Chock and Evan Bates successfully defended their ice dancing title Saturday, scoring
137.85 in the free dance for a top-place total score of 229.75.
Auto racing: The Bus Bros. of IndyCar were quickly knocked out of contention in their Rolex 24 debut at Daytona because of a very early issue with their Tower Motorsports entry. John Farano, owner of the car, hired IndyCar stars Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin ,as well as rising talent Kyffin Simpson, for the twiceround-the-clock endurance race at Daytona International Speedway.
Golf: Top-ranked Rory McIlroy and rival Patrick Reed were two shots off the lead at the halfway
AApoint of the Dubai Desert Classic. Richard Bland, Thomas Pieters and amateur Michael Thorbjornsen all reached 10under overall at Emirates Golf Club for a share of the lead after two rounds of the weather-impacted tournament, which will conclude Monday.
NHL: Alex Newhook scored on his birthday for the second straight season, and the host Colorado Avalanche beat the St. Louis Blues 4-2 for their seventh win in eight games.
Soccer: Casemiro was a serial winner with Real Madrid and on Saturday he kept Manchester United’s trophy hunt going strong in the FA Cup. The Brazil international struck twice in four second-half minutes as United won against seconddivision Reading 3-1 and progressed to the fifth round . ... Marseille fell short of a club record ninth straight win in all competitions after drawing at home with Monaco 1-1 in the French league . ... While they are fighting for survival in the English Premier League, Leeds, Leicester and Southampton are advancing in the FA Cup. Securing top-flight status remains the priority for all three, but the cup is providing
AAwelcome relief from their battles against relegation. Leeds won against third-tier Accrington Stanley 3-1, Leicester overcame fourth-tier Walsall 1-0, and bottom-of-the-league Southampton won against second-division Blackpool 2-1 . ... Lautaro Martínez’s rich vein of scoring form produced two more goals to help Inter Milan win at bottom club Cremonese 2-1 and move into second spot in Serie A . ... Stymied in attack and without its top two scorers, Barcelona turned to Pedri to ensure they reach the Spanish league midway point ahead of Real Madrid in the title chase.
MLB: Jeff McNeil, 30, has agreed to a four-year, $50 million extension with the New York Mets, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The contract reportedly includes a fifth-year team option that could bring the deal to $63.75 million.
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