Aki Alpin – Shiffrin contemplates a historic throw in Kranjska Gora

Kranjska Gora offers American star Mikaela Shiffrin the next two opportunities for a historic throw. With Zagreb’s second slalom cancelled, the 27-year-old is targeting her 82nd World Cup win on Slovenian ice Kranjska Gora, which would equal her level with defunct compatriot Lindsey Vonn. On the other hand, the Austrians aim to return to the top five in the giant slalom races on Saturday and Sunday (each at 9:30 am / 12:30 pm / ORF1) in Podkoren.

The cancellation of the latest slalom near the Croatian capital came as no surprise, but many were less pleased: Shiffrin, who was the winner the day before had a good chance of winning the double, and in Oberkreen can expect more resistance in the giant slalom. Franziska Grech, who finished seventh on the soft slope, did really well. and Katharina Linsberger, who finally wanted to quit working part-time fast entirely. In the platform that now awaits, the women of ÖSV have been waiting for the podium like Linzburger did in Linz in December 2019 for more than three years. In four races to date there have been two top-ten finishes by Linsberger (fifth/Killington) and Ricarda Haser (eighth/Semring). In Kranjska Gora 16 years ago, the Austrian (Nicole Höspp) was at the top in a giant slalom.

End of season for Shire

On the other hand, ski racer Kristin Scherr does not participate in Slovenia. The 28-year-old will not be used throughout the World Cup season and will also miss the World Championships in Courchevel/Miribel in February. As announced by ÖSV on Friday, the woman from Vorarlberg will undergo surgery on her right shoulder in a few days. There, the pace specialist had already suffered a labrum tear, meaning the lip joint, while training at Copper Mountain in the fall.

The Figure Skating Association said the injury had been treated conservatively in the past few weeks. However, the treatment did not bring the desired effect, and the necessary stability of the shoulder joint was lacking.