BEAVER CREEK, Colo. (AP) — American teenager Mikaela Shiffrin took a big step toward defending her slalom title at the world championships Saturday by turning in a smooth first run to take the early lead.
Shiffrin finished in 50.07 seconds and holds a 0.40-second advantage over Frida Hansdotter of Sweden heading into the afternoon run. Sarka Strachova of the Czech Republic was third.
With Lindsey Vonn done for these championships, the 19-year-old Shiffrin, who’s from nearby Eagle-Vail, slipped into the role of hometown favorite. She turned in a textbook run with no glaring mistakes, rhythmically gliding through the course to the cheers below.
“It’s a technical course, right up my alley,” Shiffrin said. “I’m glad with that run.”
Shiffrin won the slalom world title in Austria two years ago. She also captured Olympic gold at the 2014 Sochi Games.
With the top 30 racing in reverse order in the final run, the course is bound to be filled with big grooves by the time Shiffrin competes.
“I’ve been training for the past three weeks on courses with some ruts, a little bit softer snow, almost slushy,” said Shiffrin, who’s attempting to become the first female skier to win slalom on home snow at worlds since Italy’s Deborah Compagnoni at Sestriere in 1997. “It’s kind of shaping up for what the conditions are looking like for the second run. I’ve prepared really well. I’m ready to go. It’s just about doing.”
The pressure weighing on Shiffrin was eased a little bit thanks to teammate Ted Ligety, who captured the first gold medal for the Americans at these championships Friday in the giant slalom.
“The first thing I thought when he finished was, ‘Yeah, he’s going to win this,” Shiffrin said. “The second thing I thought was, ‘Thank you for getting a gold!’
“I felt good at the start. A little bit jittery, good jitters, the kind of adrenaline that you need to actually put a run down.”
Hansdotter isn’t that far behind Shiffrin. Not a surprise, since Hansdotter leads the World Cup standings in the discipline this season.
“I’m satisfied with my first run,” said Hansdotter, who’s trying to become the third woman from Sweden to win this event at worlds. “It was hard to let the skis go, but I tried to ski as fast as I could.”
Slovenia’s Tina Maze was in fifth and 0.85 seconds off Shiffrin’s time. She’s trying to add to her medal collection at Beaver Creek. Maze has already captured two golds and a silver.
Comment count on this article reflects comments made on Breitbart.com and Facebook. Visit Breitbart's Facebook Page.