Shiffrin becomes best female slalom skier in history

With her 36th career World Cup victory in slalom at Semmering (AUT) on Saturday, Mikaela Shiffrin of the U.S. passed Austrian Marlies Schild in the history books to become the most successful female slalom skier of all time. She also became the first World Cup skier, male or female, to win 15 World Cup races in a single calendar year (2018). The previous record of 14 races was held by Marcel Hirscher (also in 2018), and there are no more races for either gender in the current calendar year.

Shiffrin held almost a half-second lead after the first run over closest rival Petra Vlhova of Slovakia, who won Friday's giant slalom race. The American was able to hold on for the win by a 0.29-second margin. Wendy Holdener of Switzerland rounded out the podium in third after skiing the fastest second run. Olympic champion Frida Hansdotter, who sat third after the first run, skied out on the second run in conditions that challenged a number of competitors.

A firm surface with some tough turns contributed to 19 skiers failing to finish or being disqualified in the first run and an additional five athletes not finishing the second run.

Nina Haver-Loeseth of Norway straddled the final flush on course in the first run and slid into the finish area holding her leg. She walked off the slope with assistance but later revealed that she sustained a tibial plateau fracture and meniscus injury that will end her season. She underwent surgery at nearby Meidling hospital on Saturday afternoon and is already on the mend.

Full results from today's race are available here.