Brilliant Shiffrin fights back to take emotional GS World Championship gold

Mikaela Shiffrin has achieved just about everything in ski racing already but even she was blown away by her own performance in claiming giant slalom gold at the 2023 World Championships in Meribel Courchevel.

The American superstar who was battling huge outside pressure, her own nerves and a pair of tough course sets amid ever-changing snow conditions – not to mention the rest of the world’s best – thought metres from home that a major mistake had, for the 10th time in 10 world championship or Olympic races, caused her to miss out on top spot.

But somehow, the now seven-time world champion found reserves of strength and skill even she did not think she had.

“I don’t know (how she recovered from losing pressure on the final left-foot undergate) because I couldn’t feel, my whole body went numb down there and I was almost blind at the bottom (with) so much stress,” an emotional Shiffrin shared in the finish area.

“I was trying so hard and then I came down here and I thought ‘maybe you just threw everything away or maybe you’re going to go harder now’.”

It proved to be the latter, with Shiffrin somehow holding on to the advantage she had built in her brilliant morning run to finish 0.12 seconds ahead of Federica Brignone, with Ragnhild Mowinckel snatching bronze ahead of defending champion Lara Gut-Behrami.

Silver for Brignone, who spent the previous days in her sick bed fighting flu, was a remarkable achievement as was bronze for Mowinckel, who has finished in the top three in GS on the World Cup circuit just once this season.

But so many of the plaudits deservedly go to Shiffrin, who now has 13 world championship medals, taking her level with Anja Parson and behind just Christel Cranz in the all-time records.

“Today I really saw myself losing it and now it’s like, I don’t even know how to explain it but my heart is going crazy, I feel like I am going to faint,” Shiffrin explained.

The immediate build-up was far from ideal for the woman who has now won world and Olympic slalom and giant slalom titles. Her longtime coach Mike Day abruptly left camp on Wednesday having been informed Shiffrin would be moving forwards with “new leadership” next season.

“It’s unbelievable. I just thought I was going to lose it on the second run,” Shiffrin added. “I know how close it can be and I knew how hard I had to push and I didn’t know if I could do it.”

For Brignone, who won Alpine combined gold in the opening event of these Championships – a race Shiffrin appeared to be in control of until straddling a gate just out from home – her flu was to thank for her silver.

“Being sick was my strength today. I really could focus, I was so happy to be here and to be out again and to be racing,” the Italian explained. “When you train a lot you stress a lot and you think about the race, the race, the race and you have it on your mind and today, I was completely free and just thinking about my skiing.”

Brignone now has two world championship GS silvers, having won her first back in 2011. Mowinckel is another skier to have been winning major medals for years. But this time, the 30-year-old was just delighted to be contributing to a stunning haul from the Norway women’s team.

“That’s the coolest part of this Championship, how well everyone from Norway has performed,” said Mowinckel who watched on while Norway won Team Parallel silver and Maria Therese Tviberg took Parallel gold. “It’s inspiring for all of us. When one takes the leap and goes for it you know everybody can do it.”

At the other end of the scale was heartbreak for local star Tessa Worley. The 2013 and 2017 GS world champion lay second after the first run and the thousands lining the Meribel slopes were primed for celebration with the 33-year-old ahead of the clock three-quarters of the way down her second run.

But it was not to be.

“I knew I had to push, I wanted to get the win, not only the medal but the win. So, for sure that’s how you ski, you take risks,” said Worley who caught her inside ski and fell to the snow in view of the grandstands. “The level of the race was unbelievable, everyone was pushing so hard and I knew it and I did a bit too much maybe.”

It’s on to the finale though for the women’s technical skiers, with the slalom taking place on Saturday 18 February, first run 10:00 local time.