AGREB, Croatia — Mikaela Shiffrin became the first American to capture two World Cup races before the age of 18 on Friday when she won the Zagreb FIS World Cup Night Slalom.
Shiffrin, a little more than two months shy of her 18th birthday, led the World Cup leader Tina Maze by 0.35 of a second after the first run. She displayed composure beyond her years during the second run, the fastest of the evening (1 minute 2.47 seconds), and won by an overall margin of 1.19 seconds.
“I was really comfortable knowing that my skis felt great,” Shiffrin said. “I had a lot of energy and was ready to rip it and ski as fast as I could. It’s so fun when you can get in the zone and you feel your feet come under you and nothing can stop you.”
Shiffrin, a resident of Vail, Colo., earned her first career World Cup victory on Dec. 20 in Are, Sweden.
Most of the 10,000 fans packing the stands at the Sljeme Ski Area, about six miles (10 kilometers) from the Zagreb city center, were urging on Slovenia’s Maze, who made an uncharacteristic mistake during her second run, straddling a gate and not finishing.
“She’s so focused and motivated all the time, and I’m sorry that she skied out,” Shiffrin said. “I know that she’s going to come back raging and ready to rock. I think the crowd was really cheering for her because she’s close to home and I’m not.”
Maze praised Shiffrin’s effort after her own disappointing finish.
“She’s a good girl, and she’s skiing fast,” said the 29-year-old Maze, who holds a 452-point overall lead over the former champion Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany. “It’s really impressive how consistent she is at her age, and she just keeps rock ’n’ rolling.”
Shiffrin’s triumph earned her 50,820 Swiss francs, or about $55,000, the biggest payday on the women’s tour.
Rounding out the podium were the Swede Frida Hansdotter, who finished second, and Erin Mielzynski of Canada, who was 1.76 seconds behind Shiffrin.
Shiffrin took the lead in World Cup slalom standings with 336 points, 26 more than Maze, who had finished in the top three in four of the six slalom races this season.
“I think it’s going to be tough to keep it,” Shiffrin said, about attaining the slalom points lead. “A lot of girls are trying to get this bib. I have it right now, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep it.”
The only female ski racer from the United States to earn a World Cup slalom title was Tamara McKinney, who accomplished the feat in 1984.
Shiffrin also climbed into sixth place in the overall World Cup standings with 426 points, 12 ahead of the four-time overall champion Lindsey Vonn, who took a hiatus from the tour in December. Vonn hopes to return for speed races next weekend in St. Anton, Austria.
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