Mikaela Shiffrin made a triumphant return to the Alpine skiing World Cup after a six-week injury layoff Sunday, dominating the season's penultimate slalom for career win 96 and locking up her record-equaling eighth season title in the discipline. Racing for the first time since hurting her left knee in a downhill crash in Italy, the American star posted the fastest times in both runs in Are, Sweden, to beat Croatian prodigy Zrinka Ljutic by a massive 1.24 seconds and third-place Michelle Gisin of Switzerland by 1.34, the AP reports.
"It was so nice to race again today and some nerves and all the emotions that I hoped to feel," Shiffrin said. She had been out since spraining the MCL and tibiofibular ligament in her knee in January, while still recovering from a bone bruise she had sustained at the start of the season. The slalom title will be Shiffrin's only globe this season. She skipped Saturday's giant slalom on the same hill and won't compete in the speed events of the finals, leaving her without enough races to close the 345-point gap on leader Lara Gut-Behrami. The Swiss star has all but secured her second overall title, after first winning it in 2016. Shiffrin positioned herself for Sunday's victory by posting the fastest first-tun run time.
"I was pushing the whole way, and I when I feel the knee, it doesn't distract me from skiing or from pushing my skis, so then that's perfect," Shiffrin said. The season title is her eighth in slalom, per the AP, making her the fourth skier to win eight crystal globes—the traditional prize in Alpine skiing—in a single classification. She said her knee held up Sunday. "I felt great with my first run skiing, but if I could be like a little bit more clean, it would feel better, also on the knee, so this run was like ... I wouldn't change one thing," Shiffrin said.
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