Olympic sports weekend preview: Mikaela Shiffrin can extend historic slalom dominance

5 days ago7 min read1 comments

This weekend, the icy slopes of Semmering, Austria, become the stage for a story of resilience and dominance that transcends mere statistics. Mikaela Shiffrin, a name now synonymous with alpine excellence, arrives not just to compete, but to continue etching her legacy into the very soul of the sport.As the final World Cup stop of 2025, Semmering hosts a giant slalom and slalom, and Shiffrin carries with her a slalom run of such staggering authority it feels plucked from legend. She has won the last five World Cup slaloms, a streak stretching back to last season, and the margin of victory in each—over a second—is what truly defies comprehension.In the entire history of World Cup skiing, no woman or man had ever strung together more than three consecutive slalom wins by such a commanding gap. This isn't just winning; it's a masterclass in precision, nerve, and speed, a testament to a mind and body operating on a different plane.Yet, the narrative is richer than a simple coronation. Shiffrin's journey back to this pinnacle has been a testament to the human spirit.Her season was violently interrupted by a crash in a giant slalom in November 2024, an event that sidelined her for two months and forced a grueling physical and psychological comeback. The giant slalom in Semmering, scheduled for Saturday, represents the latest chapter in that recovery.Her results this season—fourth, 14th, sixth, and fourth—chart a determined, if not yet dominant, climb back to the top of that discipline. Semmering itself is a venue of personal significance for Shiffrin, a hill where she has claimed victory in seven of her last nine GS and slalom starts, though she hasn't raced there since December 2022.It’s a return to familiar, successful terrain, a potential catalyst for her to bridge the final gap in her GS form. The parallel story unfolding in Livigno, Italy—the future 2026 Olympic freestyle and snowboarding site hosting its first Alpine World Cup with a men’s super-G—adds a poignant layer to the weekend.Here, Swiss phenomenon Marco Odermatt, a skier who may enter those same Olympics as the favorite in three events, seeks to reinforce his own reign. He is the reigning world champion in super-G and has led the World Cup standings in the event for four consecutive years, a display of consistency that mirrors Shiffrin’s in slalom.For the United States, eyes will also be on Ryan Cochran-Siegle, whose super-G silver in Beijing 2022 remains the lone U. S.Alpine medal from those Games. His current season shows promising signs of a veteran finding his best form at the perfect time, ranking seventh in downhill with a runner-up finish already to his name.

#Mikaela Shiffrin

#Alpine Skiing

#World Cup

#Slalom

#Giant Slalom

#Semmering

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