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≡ FIS ALPINE WORLD CUP ≡
“Following her crash in yesterday’s giant slalom at the Stifel Killington Cup, Mikaela was taken down by sled and transferred by ambulance to be evaluated at Rutland Regional Medical Center.
“– There was no ligament damage assessed.
“– Bones and internal organs look OK.
“– There is a puncture wound into the right side of her abdomen and severe muscle trauma.
“Her return to snow is TBD and more information will be forthcoming.”
That’s from the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team on Sunday on the condition of superstar Mikaela Shiffrin, who crashed on the second run in Saturday’s FIS Alpine World Cup Giant Slalom in Killington, Vermont.
Shiffrin herself offered some information on her status after her crash on Saturday, posting:
“Quick update. Thank you for your cheers and support. Wishing the best of luck to my teammates tomorrow!! I’ll be cheering from the sidelines on this one.”
Shiffrin was in position to win her 100th FIS Alpine World Cup race on Saturday in Killington, with impressive 0.32 lead on the field after the first run.
American Paula Moltzan took the lead on the second run, starting in 25th position, at 1:54.57, but was passed immediately by Zrinka Ljutic (CRO), with the fastest second run so far at 57.00 and a 1:53.62 total.
Next up was Camille Rast (SUI), who posted a 57.60 to move into second at 1:54.13, moving Moltzan to third. No. 28 on the start list was Norway’s Thea Louise Stjernesund, third after the first run, and she skied smoothly into third at 1:54.14.
Now came Sweden’s Sara Hector, who was 0.32 seconds behind Shiffrin after the first run, and she rolled down the hill in 56.98, best so far in the second run and took the lead at 1:53.08 – by 0.54 – and giving Shiffrin a considerable challenge.
Then came the first-run leader, with Shiffrin looking for history.
Shiffrin was flying down the hill, up on the field by 0.20 after the first split, and 0.17 after the second split, but she fell about two-thirds of the way down the course, tumbled and then rolled into the safety netting at the side of the course.
That left Hector as the winner with her sixth career Giant Slalom gold in 1:53.08, then Ljutic in 1:53.62 and Rast at 1:54.13. Moltzan finished fifth in 1:54.57 and fellow American Nina O’Brien (1:54.81) was sixth.
On Sunday, it was Rast claiming her first World Cup win, in the Slalom, moving from third to first on the second run and winning in 1:46.87 over Anna Swenn Larsson (SWE) and Wendy Holdener (SUI), who tied for second at 1:47.44. First-run leader Lena Duerr (GER) ended up fourth at 1:47.47. Holdener had the fastest second run and moved from ninth to the silver.
The women’s World Cup schedule lost next weekend’s Giant Slaloms at Mont Tremblant (CAN), due to insufficient snow, with a make-up to come later in the season. The next racing will be at Beaver Creek, Colorado with a Downhill on 14 December – the possible return of comebacking U.S. star Lindsey Vonn – and a Giant Slalom on 15 December.
Shiffrin is no stranger to injuries, having missed time from a crash in December 2015 that affected her right knee, and a left-knee injury from a crash in a downhill in January 2024.
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