History was made on Tuesday in Saalbach, Austria. American ski sensation Mikaela Shiffrin of Vail, Colorado won her 15th medal at the World Alpine Skiing Championships, and in the process tied the record for the most medals won in the championships all-time.
What medal did Shiffrin win on Tuesday?
Shiffrin won gold in a new event in the World Alpine Skiing Championships. On Tuesday for the first time, the women’s team combined event took place. The women’s team combined replaces the individual combined. In the women’s team combined, two skiers compete on one team and represent the same country. One skier participates in the downhill and the other participates in the slalom.
Shiffrin teamed up with Breezy Johnson of Jackson, Wyoming. This was the second gold medal for Johnson at the 2005 World Alpine Skiing Championships as she won gold in the women’s downhill on Saturday.
The American team posted a winning time of 2:40.89. Shiffrin had a time of 58.78 seconds in the slalom and Johnson had a time of 1:42.11. Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami and Wendy Holdener won the silver medal with a time of 2:41.28, and Austria’s Stephanie Venier (winner of the women’s super giant slalom on Thursday) and Wendy Holdener won the bronze medal with a time of 2:41.42. Shiffrin and Johnson reached the podium by 0.64 seconds as the American duo of Lauren Macuga and Paula Moltzan had a fourth place time of 2:41.53. Macuga actually had the fastest downhill time of 1:41.60, but Moltzan struggled at the end of the slalom race, had a time of 59.93, and as a result, the United States could only get one team on the podium.
Who is Shiffrin tied with?
The only other skier with 15 medals at the World Alpine Skiing Championships is Christl Cranz of Freiburg, Germany. Cranz won 12 gold medals and three silver medals from 1934 to 1939.
