No. 100 should look forward to Mikaela Shiffrin.
Shiffrin crashed in the course of the second run of an enormous slalom in Killington, Vermont, on Saturday, her first probability at getting her a centesimal World Cup victory. She was taken off the hill on a sled and is being evaluated, U.S. Ski and Snowboard mentioned.
“More information to come back, however take solace in the truth that she requested about her splits,” the federation mentioned in a submit on X.
It’s additionally not clear whether or not Shiffrin will be capable to race in Sunday’s slalom. She’s gained the slalom six instances at Killington, and in addition has gained the primary two slalom races this season.
Shiffrin had a snug lead after the primary run Saturday. But with shadows lengthening on an already icy course, Shiffrin appeared to get off-balance and lose her edge as she took a good line round a gate lower than 15 seconds from the end line. She tumbled over and slid sideways, hitting one gate and somersaulting into one other earlier than slamming into the protection netting on the facet of the hill.
She stayed down for a number of minutes as security personnel instantly rushed to her facet. The crowd at Killington, which is at all times raucous for the Americans, instantly grew silent.
It’s solely the eighth time in Shiffrin’s World Cup profession, and first since 2018, that she hasn’t completed an enormous slalom race, and it introduced a stunning finish to a day that started with such promise.
Shiffrin has gained six instances at Killington, a two-hour drive from the Burke Mountain Academy she attended as a youngster and one among her favourite stops on the circuit. Though she’d by no means gained an enormous slalom race at Killington — her greatest finishes had been third place final yr and in 2019 — she got here out blazing within the first run Saturday.
Holding a good line, she posted the second-fastest instances on the primary two sections of the course earlier than blistering the third. While a number of the different high contenders received tripped up by the icy terrain, Shiffrin mentioned she discovered the floor to be “actually nice.”
“The course and the situations are actually spectacular,” she mentioned between runs. “It’s fairly simple. There could also be some spots on the hill with just a few stones which might be surfacing as individuals ski. Some of the skiers, they give the impression of being high-quality, after which their ski slips out.
“I don’t assume it’s a difficulty of not sufficient grip a lot as you hit a stone and also you lose the sting,” she added. “It’s fairly typical for this race right here.”
Shiffrin’s time for the primary run was 55.78, greater than three-tenths of a second sooner than Sara Hector of Sweden. That cushion meant the victory was hers for the taking, but it surely wasn’t meant to be.
