Shiffrin dazzles with 104th World Cup win at Copper Mountain slalom

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COPPER MOUNTAIN, United States, Nov 30 (Reuters) – American Mikaela Shiffrin extended her own World Cup record on Sunday at Copper Mountain, delighting home fans with a masterful slalom performance and claiming her 104th victory.

Shiffrin, a two-time Olympic gold medallist, shook off Saturday’s disappointing 14th-place finish in the giant slalom to deliver a dominant race, finishing more than a second and a half ahead of her nearest rival.

“I can hear you guys; you are so awesome. Thank you,” Shiffrin told the enthusiastic home crowd.

“I felt perfect today. I connected with the course; it’s beautiful to ski. I feel like everyone here is pushing, so I had to push in the first run. This second run was amazing.”

Germany’s Lena Duerr claimed second place, finishing 1.57 seconds behind the American heroine, while 19-year-old Lara Colturi of Albania completed the podium after ending in third place.

Switzerland’s Wendy Holdener finished second in the first run but was unable to maintain her lead in the second and failed to reach the podium.

There was a brief interruption to the first run when Austria’s Lisa Hoerhager crashed before the finish line, with 30 athletes still to compete. Fortunately, she was able to walk off the course unassisted.

Fresh off her 103rd World Cup victory in Austria last week, Shiffrin remains the United States’ brightest medal prospect for the Milano-Cortina Olympics in February.

When asked about her preparations for the next event, she just said: “Hopefully I can get lots of sleep. Everybody on this circuit is pretty tired and ready for a nap.”

The World Cup circuit will head to Mont-Tremblant in Canada in December.

(Reporting by Angelica Medina in Mexico City, editing by Pritha Sarkar)