Mikaela Shiffrin is atop the podium again.
TheOlympic slalom championwon the first World Cup race in the discipline since theMilano Cortina Gameson Sunday, March 15. Even with a small bobble near the end of the course, Shiffrin finished 0.94 seconds ahead of Emma Aicher of Germany for her 109th World Cup victory.
Shiffrin has already secured the season slalom title, but this win was key because it extended her lead over Aicher in the overall race. Shiffrin has 1,286 points, 140 more than Aicher, going into the World Cup finals that begin next week in Lillehammer, Norway.
After Shiffrin crossed the finish line, she and Aicher saluted each other.
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"There's still some pushing to do. Like you can see, Emma is skiing just incredible in every event, so I try to stay (with that) fighting spirit," Shiffrin said.
USA's Mikaela Shiffrin won gold in the slalom Wednesday, Feb. 18, her first medal since winning a silver in the combined at the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang. It snapped an 0-for-8 streak at the Winter Games, which included DNFs in three events four years ago." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Nika Tomsic of Slovenia during the women's slalom during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Mialitiana Clerc of Madagascar reacts after her first run in the women's slalom." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Camille Rast of Switzerland in action during her first run in the women's slalom." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Martina Dubovska of Czech Republic in action during her second run." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Eliane Christen of Switzerland reacts after her second run." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Laurence St-Germain of Canada in action during her second run in the women's slalom." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Laurence St-Germain of Canada in action during her second run in the women's slalom." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Marie Lamure of Team France competes during the Women's Slalom Run on day twelve of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics at Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre on February 18, 2026 in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Katharina Truppe of Team Austria competes during the Women's Slalom Run on day twelve of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics at Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre on February 18, 2026 in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
See the moment Mikaela Shiffrin wins gold in women's slalom at Olympics
USA's Mikaela Shiffrinwon gold in the slalom Wednesday, Feb. 18, her first medal since winning a silver in the combined at the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang. It snapped an 0-for-8 streak at the Winter Games, which included DNFs in three events four years ago.
Wendy Holdener of Switzerland finished third, a second behind Shiffrin. Americans Paula Moltzan was fifth and A.J. Hurt was 14th.
Shiffrin's dominance in slalom this season has been remarkable. She won eight of the nine World Cup races, and finished second in the other, and her victories were often by wide margins. At the Olympics, where she won the third gold of her career, Shiffrin won by a whopping 1.5 seconds. It was the largest margin of victory since 1998.
"Maybe toward end of the season, it's been simplicity. I don't actually know," Shiffrin said when asked to explain her success this season. "... We really want to fight through the final races and have a really good energy and spirit."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Mikaela Shiffrin wins first World Cup slalom race since Olympics