US ski star Mikaela Shiffrin clinched the World Cup season women’s overall crown on Friday without even taking to the slopes as Slovenia’s Ilka Stuhec decided to skip Saturday’s slalom race.
Shiffrin has 1,523 points with two races, and a maximum 200 possible points, remaining at the World Cup Finals in Aspen while Stuhec is 198 points behind in second place, so not racing the slalom ends her unlikely hope of overtaking the American for the title.
Shiffrin, who turned 22 last Monday, becomes the youngest winner of the overall title since Croatia’s Janica Kostelic in 2003. She has also already secured her fourth World Cup season slalom crown in five years.
Stuhec, who will compete in Sunday’s season-ending giant slalom race has secured second place in the overall standings, 208 points ahead of Italy’s third-place Sofia Goggia.
“We discussed (racing Saturday) if she will have to fight for second place against Goggia,” said Grega Kostomaj, Stuhec’s private coach.
“Now the difference is so high and we don’t need those points. She’s really tired already and it was a long trip around the globe and it’s a better decision.”
Reigning world and Olympic slalom champion Shiffrin becomes only the fifth American to win an overall title after Phil Mahre, Tamara McKinney, Bode Miller and Lindsey Vonn.
Shiffrin won her third consecutive world slalom title last month in St. Moritz, the first women to achieve the feat since Germany’s Christi Cranz in 1939.
A US Ski Association official said no comments were expected from Shiffrin on Friday about the clinching so she could focus on her weekend races and there was still plenty of work for Shiffrin on the Rocky Mountain snow of Aspen, near her home in Vail.
Shiffrin can overtake Vonn’s record of 12 World Cup race victories in a single season by sweeping Saturday’s slalom and Sunday’s giant slalom competitions.
And the women’s World Cup giant slalom crown remains very much up for grabs between Shiffrin and France’s Tessa Worley. Shiffrin has 560 points while Worley leads with 640. Each have won three giant slalom races this season.
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