Mikaela Shiffrin saved her best for last in Cortina. In her final event of the 2026 Winter Games, the American skier finally claimed slalom gold, snapping an Olympic medal drought that covered eight straight events stretching back to 2018, per NPR. Racing under clear blue skies, Shiffrin built a commanding 0.82-second lead in the first run, where she said she felt "on the limit," then widened the gap to about 1.5 seconds in the second run for what the Guardian reports is "the largest winning margin in any Olympic alpine skiing event since 1998." "There were probably three different times on the course where I thought, I could easily be pushed off the course right now," Shiffrin said, adding that she had "big energy" on the day.
She's now the second woman to win the Olympic slalom at least twice and the first US skier to win three Olympic golds, following victories in Sochi in 2014 and Pyeongchang in 2018. That comes on top of a résumé that already includes a record 108 World Cup wins and a silver medal from Pyeongchang. It also comes after a difficult stretch marked by high expectations, public discussion of mental strain, serious injury, and the death of her father in 2020. In Cortina, organizers underscored Shriffrin's marquee status with dramatic music before each run; on Wednesday, the 30-year-old matched the build-up, finally ending these Games on top of the podium. Switzerland's Camille Rast took silver and Sweden's Anna Swenn Larsson won bronze.
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