Mikaela Shiffrin and Breezy Johnson teamed to win the inaugural team combined event at the World Alpine Ski Championships in Saalbach, Austria, on Tuesday.
Johnson, who won the downhill world title on Saturday, posted the fourth-fastest time in the downhill, 0.51 seconds off the lead. Shiffrin followed with her slalom run, also posting the fourth-fastest time, but the women’s combined time of 2:40.89 was the best on the day.
Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami and Wendy Holdener, who had the fastest slalom run, finished second, 0.39 seconds behind. Stephanie Venier and Katharina Truppe of Austria were 0.53 seconds back and in third place.
The U.S. win gave Shiffrin her 15th podium finish at the world championships, tying Christel Cranz — a German skiier from the 1930s — for the record. Shiffrin has eight victories in the worlds to go with her record 99 World Cup victories.
“This was an amazing day for me up there, nerve-racking,” Shiffrin said. “Breezy did her job spectacularly this morning. It’s really unbelievable, I am so happy.”
Shiffrin is returning to skiing after she crashed Nov. 30 in a giant slalom run in Killington, Vt., and wound up with a stab wound in her oblique muscle that required surgery. She said Monday that she won’t compete in the giant slalom at these worlds, acknowledging she is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder following the accident.
She is confident in the slalom, however, and will race in that event on Saturday.
–Field Level Media
