Mikaela Shiffrin secured a spot on the podium in a World Cup giant slalom event after a two-year gap at Spindleruv Mlyn, Czechia. She finished third in the race, which served as the final GS competition before the Milan Cortina Olympics. The race was clinched by defending Olympic champion Sara Hector, marking her first victory since January 2025.
Expressing her joy at the win, Hector mentioned the tough competition from other strong contenders. Shiffrin, the 2018 Olympic GS gold medalist, followed closely behind Hector by 0.23 seconds and shared the podium with her American teammate Paula Moltzan, who finished second just 0.18 seconds off the winning time.
Canada’s Britt Richardson also put up a strong performance, securing a top-10 finish by coming in ninth place, 3.19 seconds behind Hector. Shiffrin, known for holding the women’s record for most career World Cup GS wins with 22, had not achieved a top-three result in the discipline for 11 events since finishing as a runner-up in a race in Slovakia in January 2024.
After facing setbacks, including a crash in a downhill race and injuries in previous seasons, Shiffrin made a remarkable comeback this season. Despite enduring multiple fourth-place finishes, she finally returned to the podium three weeks before the upcoming Olympic race in Cortina d’Ampezzo.
In the same event, Moltzan, aiming for her first career win, secured her third podium of the season, leading a strong U.S. team performance with Nina O’Brien finishing fifth and AJ Hurt in eighth place. The race saw Hector narrowly edging out Camille Rast of Switzerland in the opening run, with Julia Scheib of Austria, the GS rankings leader, finishing third.
Notably, notable racers like Federica Brignone and Sofia Goggia from Italy opted out of the Czechia event, preparing for the upcoming speed racing in Switzerland before their home Olympics. The event concluded with plans for a slalom race on the same hill the following day.