Mikaela Shiffrin secured a spot on the podium at the World Cup giant slalom event in Spindleruv Mlyn, Czechia, marking her first podium finish in this event in two years. Shiffrin finished third, with defending Olympic champion Sara Hector clinching the victory, her first win since January 2025.
In a post-race interview, Hector expressed her satisfaction at winning, acknowledging the tough competition from other strong contenders. Shiffrin, the 2018 Olympic GS gold medalist, came in third, trailing Hector by 0.23 seconds. She shared the podium with her American teammate Paula Moltzan, who finished second, just 0.18 seconds behind Hector.
Canadian skier Britt Richardson also had a commendable performance, securing a ninth-place finish with a time of 2:27.05, 3.19 seconds behind the winner. Shiffrin, who holds the record for the most career World Cup GS wins among women with 22 victories, had not achieved a top-three result in this discipline for 11 events until this race.
Shiffrin’s return to the podium comes after a series of setbacks, including a crash in a downhill race on the Olympic course last month and sustaining injuries in a crash in November 2024. This season, she had three fourth-place finishes before her podium success in Spindleruv Mlyn.
Paula Moltzan, aiming for her first career win, secured her third podium finish of the season. The U.S. team had a strong showing with Nina O’Brien finishing fifth and AJ Hurt in eighth place. In the opening run, Hector narrowly beat Camille Rast of Switzerland by 0.02 seconds, with Julia Scheib of Austria coming in third, 0.26 seconds behind.
Notably, Federica Brignone, the overall World Cup champion, and Sofia Goggia, the 2018 Olympic downhill champion, did not compete in the Czechia event as they prepare for upcoming races in Switzerland and the upcoming Olympics in their home country. The event was followed by a slalom race scheduled for the next day on the same hill.