Staff report
Two skiers with Vermont ties made history, Thursday, Dec. 29 in Semmering, Austria.
Mikaela Shiffrin secured her 80th World Cup win and 50th slalom victory on Thursday while Paula Moltzan came in second place, earning her first podium in the discipline. It was the first time Americans finished first and second in a women’s World Cup slalom since 1971.
Shiffrin attended Burke Mountain Academy, while Moltzan attended the University of Vermont.
“I obviously couldn’t be more proud of myself and the whole team, and even better to do it in front of my parents,” Moltzan told the Associated Press.
Shiffrin finished 0.29 seconds ahead of Moltzan and became the first skier with 50 World Cup wins in a single discipline.
“I honestly have no idea — I have no idea what to say about that,” Shiffrin told the Associated Press. “But one thing that is easy to say: U.S. 1-2 in slalom, that is amazing. That is unbelievable.”
Shiffrin is on track to beat Lindsey Vonn’s record of 82 World Cup wins — the most by a female.
