Mikaela Shiffrin secures ninth slalom crystal globe with dominant win in Spindleruv Mlyn

In winning her seventh slalom of the season on Sunday in Spindleruv Mlyn, Czech Republic, Mikaela Shiffrin secured her ninth crystal globe in the discipline.

“It’s actually hard to think about that today because there was so much to think about on the racecourse, so now it’s like a nice surprise,” Shiffrin said on the broadcast after her 71st slalom victory.

The Edwards skier crushed the competition on the Cerna Svaty Petr course. She carried a 1.26-second advantage into the second run and held on for a two-run time of 1 minute, 37.59 seconds, 1.67 seconds ahead of runner-up Camille Rast and more than two seconds clear of third-place finisher Emma Aicher.

“I said the first run, just like ‘big mentality,'” Shiffrin said. “It’s wonderful to be consistent and be fast, but every time I ski — when I’m skiing fast — I feel like, totally, that I could be flying off the course at any moment. So, it takes a lot of effort and so much intensity and focus. It’s always very exciting when I’m in the finish actually.” 

Shiffrin is now the only athlete, male or female, to have more than eight discipline titles. Lindsey Vonn (downhill) and Ingemar Stenmark (slalom) also have eight in their respective events.

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Vail’s Liv Moritz scored her first World Cup points on Sunday. Wearing bib 42, the 21-year-old moved up eight places to finish in 13th. Moritz was the second American behind Shiffrin as A.J. Hurt, Nina O’Brien and Paula Moltzan all posted DNFs.

“I’m super stoked,” Moritz said via U.S. Ski and Snowboard’s Sierra Ryder. “I just tried to go into the second run with no expectations because I’ve never made a second run before, but I’m just super proud of how I did.”

Moritz has earned slalom World Cup starts for the entire year by virtue of winning last season’s NorAm Cup globe. The University of Denver dual-sport star plays soccer for the Pioneers as well, just as she did at Vail Mountain School.

Shiffrin has won seven slaloms in a single season four times (2018, 2019, 2024, 2026); the only other athlete to accomplish the feat more than once is Vreni Schneider. With eight victories, Shiffrin shares the record for most slalom wins in a season with Janica Kostelic. There are two slaloms left this year: one in Are, Sweden on March 15 and another at the World Cup Finals in Lillehammer the following week.

Shiffrin has 780 slalom points, 288 clear of Rast, who is also second in the giant slalom and the overall. The Swiss athlete said she’s been coming back from illness and her batteries were a little low coming into Sunday’s race.

“The second run was really good. I missed a little bit this morning,” Rast stated. “My first run, I was not so in shape, I wasn’t awake or I didn’t give all I had. I needed some energy for the second run.”

After Sunday’s race, Aicher remained third in the overall standings, second in the downhill, eighth in the slalom and fifth in the super-G.

“I don’t think it’s that difficult,” the German said when asked about doing all four disciplines. “I’ve done it a few years now and it’s nice to see it’s working.”

The World Cup circuit continues with speed events in Crans Montana next weekend before the Olympics begin in February. The Olympic slalom is slated for Feb. 18. Shiffrin will enter as the presumptive favorite and the overall crystal globe leader as well. But the four-time Olympian knows that doesn’t guarantee anything.

“The Olympics is a totally different challenge. I’ve had great Olympics, I’ve had tough Olympics,” Shiffrin said. “I try to go in with an open mind, good spirit, trusting my team — they’ve been amazing the whole season and they’ll be there.”

This story will be updated throughout the day.