Another busy day in the snow-covered mountains comes to a victorious end in the Northwestern town of Slovenia. In its 12th stop of the total 41, the FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup 2023-24 is less than three months away from its conclusion. Meanwhile, the US alpine skiers are taking turns to step on the podium ranks with a new face in today’s race.

Now, despite the World Cup champion Mikaela Shiffrin‘s finish, America continued to dominate the women’s World Cup slalom. Showing camaraderie, the two-time Olympian cheered for fellow winner on her special win, winning hearts off field.

Mikaela Shiffrin shifts focus on compatriot’s recent win

Shiffrin failed to finish the first leg of the slalom, but her rival Petra Vlhova, hung on to her first-run advantage to win on Sunday. Vlhova outran Lena Duerr racing in pouring snow while U.S. skier, AJ Hurt, set the quickest time in the second run, and placed third. Reposting @usskiteam’s Instagram post, Shiffrin captioned it, “THIRD PLACE And now @aihurti with her first podium! One of the most impressive performances I’ve seen in a long time.”

After the first run, Hurt—improved from 16th place—securing her first-ever World Cup podium. The California native has made 60 appearances in the World Cup. Another American, Paula Moltzan lagged behind Vlhova by 1.23 s, became the second American in the top five.

After Mikaela, who holds the female record with 80 slalom podiums, and Paula Moltzan, previous season’s runner-up and today’s slalom fifth finisher, Hurt became the third American to land on the World Cup slalom podium in the last 11 years. Now both Vlhova and Shiffrin have won three slaloms this season, while Shiffrin is ahead of Vlhova by five points in the rankings.

Closer look at Mikaela Shiffrin’s day

In the opening run, Shiffrin trailed Vlhova by 0.47 s at the first checkpoint and, 24s into her run, her left ski went the wrong side of a gate.

It was an unusual accident for Shiffrin, who had previously straddled a gate in a World Cup competition in January 2022, during the second run of a slalom on the same slope in Slovenia. However, Shiffrin continues to maintain her lead in the overall rankings and is 207 points clear of Vlhova.

READ MORE Look Back At Mikaela Shiffrin In 2023: From ESPY To 93 World Cup Wins

While battling cold at yesterday’s giant slalom run, Shiffrin placed eighth. Post Shiffrin’s out, female American skiers are using the opportunity to advance their positions in the World Cup standings.

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