Shiffrin enjoys crowning skiing achievement
Mikaela Shiffrin entered her last race of the season with the World Cup overall title already locked up.
In Sunday’s giant slalom in the World Cup Finals in Aspen, Colo., Shiffrin was sixth and France’s Tessa Worley won the seasonlong title in giant slalom. Worley raced conservatively, finishing fifth as Italians swept the top three led by Federica Brignone.
A day earlier, Shiffrin officially clinched the World Cup overall title that she had all but wrapped up weeks ago. She secured the title when Ilka Stuhec of Slovenia decided Friday to skip the slalom.
On Sunday, Shiffrin was presented her crystal globe for the overall title in her home state, just a couple hours from her home in Eagle-Vail.
The 22-year-old became the fifth American ski racer to win the overall crown, joining Phil Mahre (1981-83), Tamara McKinney (1983), Bode Miller (2005, 2008) and Lindsey Vonn (200810, 2012).
On the men’s side, Marcel Hirscher of Austria won the giant slalom and slalom globes and his sixth consecutive overall title.
Shiffrin also won the crystal globe for slalom, the fourth time in five years she’s done so. Overall she won 11 races this season, which includes a city event, three giant slaloms and an Alpine combined.
“It’s sort of sad it’s over,” Shiffrin said Sunday of her memorable season. “At the end of the year, it’s tiring physically and mentally. There are so many emotional roller coasters that you just want to take a nap for three days straight.”
Next season, the Olympic slalom champion plans to add more speed races to her repertoire. The 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, begin Feb. 9.
“My goal right now is to race in speed in the Olympics,” Shiffrin said. “I will still focus on my main events, but as I get older and more confident and stronger, I can add more speed.”