KRANJSKA GORA, Slovenia (AP) — Paula Moltzan and Mikaela Shiffrin finished within striking distance of Swiss leader Camille Rast in the opening run of a women’s World Cup giant slalom on Saturday.
The Americans stood second and fourth, respectively, with 0.33 and 0.38 seconds to make up in the final leg. They were separated by Italian prodigy Lara Colturi, who competes for Albania and was one-hundredth ahead of Shiffrin in third.
Shiffrin holds the women’s record of 22 World Cup wins in the discipline. But with six weeks to go until the Feb. 15 giant slalom at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, the 2018 gold medalist has not been on a GS podium for 10 World Cup races since January 2024.
Shiffrin suffered from PTSD last season following a horrifying crash at her home race in Killington in November 2024 and has been working her way back up the GS rankings since her return more than two months later.
On Saturday, Shiffrin briefly celebrated with both arms in the air after she finished.
“Happy and satisfied are different, because I would like to be faster, but I'm taking steps and I feel very good with that,” Shiffrin told Austrian TV when asked whether she was 100% happy with her first run.
“Last year, I remember watching this race from home and I thought, ‘Oh, I can’t do that.' So, it's pretty incredible to be here one year later and to be in the mix with the fastest women right now.”
Rast, who is the world champion in slalom, gained her advantage on the upper part of the Podkoren 3 course, posting the fastest times in the first two sections.
The Swiss racer finished second in a GS in Austria last week for her best career result in the discipline. Her two wins both came in slalom, most recently in January 2025.
Moltzan raced with a bruised back following a nasty crash in last week’s GS. Her career best result in the discipline is a second place, from the season-opening race in October.
Nina O’Brien in seventh added to a strong showing by the U.S. ski team.
Discipline leader Julia Scheib, who has won three races this season, was fifth. The Austrian will keep the red bib no matter the outcome of the second run, as her closest challenger, New Zealand’s Alice Robinson, skied out for second straight race, this time on a course set by her coach Nils Coberger.
AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Discover India with Us! Read moreIndia Community Travel: Virtual Information Session
Prayer, grounded in divine Love and spiritual law, offers a reliable foundation for healing,… Read moreInspirational Talk on Effective Prayer: Finding healing and wholeness in divine Love
What the Constitution Means to Me Read moreWhat The Constitution Means To Me
Navigating Senior Care, Estate Planning, & Funeral Planning Read morePeace of Mind with a Piece of Cake
Dave Cohen said:
Dirk van Ulden said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.