American ski star Mikaela Shiffrin set the second-fastest time in the opening round of the World Cup slalom in Kranjska Gora on Sunday, behind Switzerland’s Camille Rast.
Shiffrin, the overall World Cup and slalom leader, was just 0.10 seconds behind Last, who took the lead a day after winning the giant slalom at the Slovenian resort.
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With just over a month before the start of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, reigning slalom world champion Rust appears to have overcome the hip issues that have plagued her since last season.
Rust, 26, has finished on the podium in each of his past four World Cup starts.
Shiffrin, meanwhile, will be looking to extend her slalom record of winning all five races this season in addition to last year’s season-ender.
Swiss skier Wendy Holdener finished third, 0.77 seconds behind her compatriot, with the second round expected to start at 1230 GMT.
Croatian Zrinka Ljutic, the 2024-25 World Cup slalom champion, was forced to retire due to an early error.
Albania’s Lara Colturi, third in the World Cup slalom standings before Sunday, also failed to finish, while Germany’s Lena Duerr was more than two seconds behind.
JR/EA
