New Zealand’s Alice Robinson on Saturday secured a record-setting fifth FIS Alpine Ski World Cup giant slalom victory in Copper Mountain, Colorado, becoming the first woman outside Europe or North America to achieve the milestone.
The 23-year-old, who led after the first run, held her nerve to perfectly defend her advantage with an equal-best second run on the course set at an altitude of 3,000 meters and claim her 18th World Cup podium in front of a raucous American crowd.
With the win, Robinson broke a tie with compatriot Claudia Riegler to become the most successful women’s alpine ski racer from outside Europe or North America.
Photo: AP
“I didn’t know that, but that is pretty cool,” Robinson told FIS’ Web site following the event.
“It’s always really special for me to represent New Zealand, especially in a sport like ski racing that’s so dominated by North America and Europe, so I’m really proud of that,” she said.
Robinson did not realize she had finished first, after almost losing her balance early on in the second run, she said.
“Honestly, it was complete disbelief — I thought I blew it with the mistakes,” she said.
Austria’s Julia Scheib finished second, 0.96 seconds behind Robinson, narrowly missing out on a second World Cup win. Norway’s Thea Louise Stjernesund completed the podium in third place.
American superstar Mikaela Shiffrin, tied for 18th after the first run, delighted home fans with a storming second effort that briefly vaulted her to the lead, but she was ultimately 2.08 seconds off the pace.
She remains atop the overall standings with 268 points, 50 ahead of Albanian Lara Colturi with Scheib in third on 180.
Shiffrin would get another chance to add to her record 103 World Cup wins in front of fans in her home state. The American was yesterday seeking to add to her 66 wins in slalom, the most by any skier in the World Cup’s 59-year history.
On Friday, Austria’s Stefan Brennsteiner got his first win in men’s giant slalom at age 34.
The circuit moves to Mont-Tremblant, Canada, next month.
Additional reporting by AFP
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