Mikaela Shiffrin’s turbulent, 12-year Olympic journey came full circle Wednesday when she won the slalom by a massive 1.50 seconds to break her long medal drought at the Winter Games.
Shiffrin put in two dominant runs in gorgeous conditions amid the jagged peaks of the Dolomites to show, again, why she is regarded by many as the greatest Alpine skier of all time.
It was the third-largest margin of victory in a women’s Olympic slalom, the event she won as a fresh-faced teenager in Sochi in 2014 to underline her status as a skiing star.
Twelve years later, she delivered again in her favorite race, and the emotions came out in the finish area after being embraced by world champion Camille Rast of Switzerland, who took silver, and bronze medalist Anna Swenn Larsson of Sweden.
The 30-year-old Shiffrin pumped her fists to the crowd and was fighting back tears as she approached her mother and coach, Eileen, for a long hug.
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