CORTINA D’AMPEZZO: US great Mikaela Shiffrin won women’s slalom gold, and her first Olympic medal since 2018, with a dominant performance in the final Alpine ski race of the Milano Cortina Games on Wednesday.

Switzerland’s Camille Rast, the only skier who has beaten Shiffrin on the World Cup this season, took silver and Sweden’s Anna Swenn Larsson clinched bronze, at the age of 34, but both were far behind their rival.

The most successful World Cup skier of all time, with a record 108 wins, sco­rched down the first run a mighty 0.82 clear of the field and increased her lead to 1.5 seconds over Rast after two legs.

Her combined winning time was one minute 39.10 seconds.

Shiffrin was the overwhelming favourite after winning seven of eight World Cup slaloms this season but the lack of medals after two events, along with a blank in Beijing four years ago, had ramped up the pressure.

“This feels like a really big moment,” she told NBC television. “Of course a medal and gold, that’s a dream come true. But at some point this week, I just said, like, stop dreaming. Just ski.”

Even after the first run down the Olimpia delle Tofane piste, there rema­ined a lingering uncertainty but Shiffrin nailed the second — her run slower only than team-mate Paula Moltzan’s mighty effort.

The gold was Shiffrin’s career third Olympic title, adding to the slalom title she won in 2014 and the giant slalom gold from Pyeongchang in 2018, where she also took a combined silver.

Shiffrin is the first female US Alpine skier to win three golds and Wednesday’s was also the second for the team in Cortina after Breezy Johnson’s downhill success.

Earlier on Wednesday, birthday boy Su Yiming delivered China’s first gold of this edition as he cruised to victory in the men’s slopestyle event.

Su later said there was “no better gift on his birthday” as the 22-year-old, who has battled injuries and faced mental struggles since he shot to fame at the 2022 Beijing Games, could not hold back the tears as the reality of his victory sunk in.

Su scored 82.41 points on his first run of three in bright sunshine at Livigno Snow Park to lay down a marker and was never caught, upgrading the silver he won in Beijing.

Japan’s Taiga Hasegawa was second with 82.13 while US snowboarder Jake Canter (79.36) won bronze, with the best run of three counting.

China had failed to win a single gold until Su’s triumph — a huge disappointment after winning nine at their home Games four years ago.

But just a couple of hours later they doubled their tally when freestyle skier Xu Mengtao won the women’s aerials final. Veteran Xu retained her title, adding another trophy to a stellar career.

Danielle Scott of Australia took the silver, while the bronze went to Xu’s compatriot Shao Qi. Meanwhile, Japan’s Mari Fukada won the women’s snowboard slopestyle gold medal.

Zoi Sadowski Synnott, the 2022 champion, took silver for New Zealand, while Fukada’s compatriot Kokomo Murase won bronze.

In the women’s 4x6km relay, Julia Simon cruised around the final lap to ensure a dominant victory for France, picking up her third gold medal of the Games after a superb third leg from Oceane Michelon set them up to win.

The Swedish team anchored by Ha­n­na Oeberg came in second to secure the silver, 51.3 seconds after the winners, with Norway taking the bronze.

Published in Dawn, February 19th, 2026