Mikaela Shiffrin was the prohibitive favorite to win the slalom event despite finishing 11th in the giant slalom race, and the American ski racer lived up to expectations by capturing the gold medal on Wednesday at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
She dominated the race from the start, clocking a combined time of 1:54.64 to finish ahead of Camille Rast of Switzerland and Anna Swenn-Larsson of Sweden.
Coming up short in the previous race affected Shiffrin mentally, so heading into the next event, she recalibrated her mindset.
"This is feels like a really big moment," Shiffrin said in an interview with NBC's Cara Banks after the race.
"Honestly, the skiing is what I cared about. Of course a medal and gold, that's a dream come true. But at some point this week, I just said, like, stop dreaming. Just ski.
"This whole time, [I've been] waiting for two times, 45 seconds today to be able to ski. And I'm so happy to be able to do the right thing in the right moment."
The gold medal may be secondary to her, but this latest achievement places her at the top of the list of the most accomplished alpine ski racers in Olympic history.
Michael Madrid-Imagn Images
The 30-year-old later took to Instagram to express her happiness, and congratulatory messages poured in. Among the first to congratulate her was her teammate, Breezy Johnson.
"So proud of what you have accomplished… oh and winning the medal too! 😍 🤗," Johnson wrote.
Shiffrin's latest win gave her three first place finishes and broke the tie with Ted Ligety and Andrea Mead Lawrence for the most Olympic gold medals in Alpine skiing history.
Shiffrin first won gold in the slalom at the 2014 Winter Olympics and then captured a second gold in the giant slalom at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea. She competed in the 2022 Games but did not reach the podium. Her best finish was fourth place in the team event.