Vail’s Mikaela Shiffrin wins gold in her first race of Pyeongchang Olympics
Vail Daily
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Gold medalist, Mikaela Shiffrin, of the United States, reacts to her victory after the second run of the Women's Giant Slalom at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018., Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Associated Press
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Mikaela Shiffrin, of the United States, falls to her knees after winning the gold medal in the Women's Giant Slalom at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018., Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Associated Press
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Mikaela Shiffrin, of the United States, skies to a gold medal during the second run of the Women's Giant Slalom at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018., Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Associated Press
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Mikaela Shiffrin, of the United States, reacts in the finish area after winning the gold medal in the Women's Giant Slalom at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018., Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Associated Press
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Mikaela Shiffrin, of the United States, holds her head in her hands after winning the gold medal in the Women's Giant Slalom at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Associated Press
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Mikaela Shiffrin, of the United States, attacks the gate during the first run of the Women's Giant Slalom at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018., Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Associated Press
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Gold medalist, Mikaela Shiffrin, of the United States, reacts to her victory after the second run of the Women's Giant Slalom at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018., Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Associated Press
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Silver medalist Ragnhild Mowinckel, of Norway, left, gold medalist Mikaela Shiffrin, of the United States, and bronze medalist Federica Brignone, of Italy, celebrate in the finish area after the Women's Giant Slalom at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Associated Press
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Mikaela Shiffrin, of the United States, attacks the gate during the second run of the Women's Giant Slalom at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018., Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Associated Press
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Mikaela Shiffrin, of the United States, reacts to her time during the first run of the Women's Giant Slalom at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Associated Press
PYEONGCHANG, South Korea — The sun finally came out, and Mikaela Shiffrin was more than ready to kick off her Olympics.
After days of delays due to windy and snowy weather, Shiffrin took gold in the giant slalom Thursday, winning her second career Olympic medal and — so far — living up to the great expectations for her in the Pyeongchang Games.
Shiffrin, 22, of Eagle-Vail, finished with a time of 2:20.02, 0.39 seconds ahead of Ragnhild Mowinckel, at the YongPyong Alpine Centre. Federica Brignone took bronze.
She takes a big step toward a multiple-medal performance at the Pyeongchang Games. She competes again Friday in the slalom, her best event, and will be the favorite for gold.
Alpine skiing has seen three postponements so far in the Olympics — the women’s giant slalom and slalom as well as the men’s downhill — but the weather cleared up and was sunny and cold Thursday for both the women’s GS and the men’s downhill.
Asked if she was happy to be finally skiing, Shiffrin said, “You don’t even know.”
“Oh my gosh, last night I was like, ‘Are we ever going to race?’” she said.
Shiffrin had originally been scheduled to competed in giant slalom first. Then it was supposed to be slalom. Finally, it was GS that began her Olympics.
“I don’t see there being any advantage one way or the other,” she said. “I’ve been skiing well in both GS and slalom and I just was thinking, ‘OK, I’ll be ready when we race.’ But the toughest thing is just to mentally tide yourself over until it is time to go, and now we’ve been race-ready for the past basically five days in a row, and we’re finally racing today.”
The women are now scheduled to compete in three events in three days.
The U.S. Ski Team hasn’t yet announced if Shiffrin will compete in the super-G.
It is Shiffrin’s expansion to the speed events that has made her the most dominant skier on the World Cup tour.
In Sochi four years ago, Shiffrin was a slalom specialist who also competed in the giant slalom, finishing fifth. But in the last four years, she has introduced more speed events into her schedule is finding success across the spectrum of event.
Since Sochi, she has won six World Cups in the giant slalom. She’s topped the podium in downhill and alpine combined as well.
Last season she won the overall title, and this season she leads the overall standings by a huge margin.
She’s won 10 World Cup races and has five other podiums this season.
In Sochi, she said she wants to win five gold medals in Pyeongchang. It’s uncertain how many event she will enter beyond Friday’s slalom.
“I don’t feel pressure to medal as a favorite, or I don’t feel pressure from anybody, any external pressure,” Shiffrin said last week. “For me, the expectations come more for myself which is actually the biggest pressure of all. But I care. I want to medal in multiple disciplines. But I also know I’m going against my competitors I’ve been racing against them all season long and they all want to medal, too.”
