Mikaela Shiffrin Skis To First Giant Slalom World Championship Medal

ST. MORITZ, Switzerland (Feb. 16, 2017) – With the fastest second run of the day, Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, CO) grabbed her first career World Championships giant slalom medal Thursday, finishing second on a sun-soaked course at the 2017 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships.

Tessa Worley of France took the victory, her second World Championship giant slalom title, as Italy’s Sofia Goggia finished third, her first World Championship medal as well. Megan McJames (Park City, UT) was the only other American to qualify for the second run, finishing 21st.

Mikaela Shiffrin grabbed her first giant slalom medal at the 2017 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in St Moritz. (Screenshot)

Shiffrin finished third in the first GS run, then stepped it up for the second run, especially on the bottom of the course with her strong finishing style.

“First run I felt like I left something out on the hill, but (the) second run I really felt like I attacked,” said Shiffrin, who was eighth in GS in 2015 at Beaver Creek, and sixth in Schladming, Austria in 2013. “It was really fun to ski.”

Shiffrin, the two-time defending slalom World Champion, is now focused on Saturday’s slalom, the final event of the 2017 World Championships.

“It’s not so hard to carry momentum when you have good momentum going,” she said.  “I’m just going to try to ride this wave, get a little training tomorrow, and then go out and try to attack on Saturday.”