Mikaela Shiffrin is about to compete in back-to-back Olympic Games in Cortina, Milan.
On Sunday, January 25, Shiffrin won her seventh World Cup slalom title of the season. She also performed well, finishing 1.67 seconds ahead of Switzerland’s Camille Rast. This was Shiffrin’s second podium finish in as many days, after finishing third in the giant slalom on Saturday, January 24.
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Although there are still two races left after the Milan Cortina Olympics, victory in Špindlerův Mlýn in the Czech Republic gave Shiffrin his ninth slalom season title. It also extended her lead in the overall standings. She is 170 points ahead of Rust.
Shiffrin let out a cheer after crossing the finish line, giving her poll a little shake and blowing kisses to fans.
“I just love skiing,” Shiffrin said afterward. “This is the best feeling, coming here.”
Shiffrin is probably in the best shape of her life in slalom — which is saying something considering 71 of her 108 career wins have come in slalom. She has won all but one slalom race this season and eight of her past nine races last season.
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The only outlier? She is second.
That makes Shiffrin the favorite to win a second Olympic slalom gold in Cortina after winning at Sochi 2014. She was also the Olympic champion in the giant slalom at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
“The Olympics are a completely different challenge. I’ve been through great Olympics and I’ve been through difficult Olympics,” Shiffrin said, referring to Beijing, where she posted DNFs in three games.
“I try to come into the game with an open mind, good spirit, and trust in my team. They’ve been great all season,” she added. “We’re going to have some strong athletes, so I think it’s time to enjoy this.”
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Still, Shiffrin must take confidence from her current skiing performance. She has previously won twice at Spindleruv Mlyn in 2019 and 2023 and dominated this race.
She finished the first round 1.66 seconds ahead of Switzerland’s Wendy Holdner. Despite the cushion, she fought her way out of the gate in the second round. She maintained a tight line as she went straight from gate to gate, never giving up any ground to her competitors, and won the second round.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mikaela Shiffrin looks dominant ahead of Olympics in Cortina, Milan