Candy redemption for Mikaela Shiffrin, who wins Olympic gold : NPR

[ad_1] <img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4432x2960+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F52%2F04%2F7f66d9d34b3a9f3d397ece5a0413%2Fgettyimages-2261728931.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4432x2960+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F52%2F04%2F7f66d9d34b3a9f3d397ece5a0413%2Fgettyimages-2261728931.jpg" class="img" alt="CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, ITALY - FEBRUARY 18: Mikaela Shiffrin of Team United States competes during the Women's Slalom Run on day twelve of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics at Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre on February 18, 2026 in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. (Photo by Christophe Pallot/Agence Zoom/Getty Images)" fetchpriority="high"/> Mikaela Shiffrin of Group United States competes through the Ladies's Slalom Run on day twelve of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics at Tofane Alpine Snowboarding Centre on Feb. 18, 2026 in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. Christophe Pallot/Getty Photos Europe cover caption

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Christophe Pallot/Getty Photos Europe CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy — In her ultimate race of the 2026 Winter Video games, snowboarding within the slalom, broadly thought-about her greatest occasion, Alpine legend Mikaela Shiffrin lastly did it, profitable a gold medal on a shimmering chilly, blue-sky day within the mountains above Cortina.

Shiffrin seized her final shot, shattering an Olympic dropping streak that had stretched over eight straight occasions, together with two right here and 6 on the Beijing Video games in 2022. She carved out a lead of .82 seconds in her first run, telling reporters afterward that she felt like she'd pushed her line to the restrict.

She then expanded her lead in second run constructing to 1.5 second margin securing gold

"It felt superb, actually good snowboarding. I used to be additionally a bit on the restrict, there have been in all probability three completely different instances on the course the place I believed, I might simply be pushed off the course proper now," Shiffrin mentioned after her first run. "I felt like I nailed it with some query marks. I've large vitality at the moment."

This medal second builds on Shiffrin's legendary standing amongst Alpine skiers, it's her fourth Olympic medal.

She was already the winningest Alpine skier in historical past with 108 World Cup wins, together with a gold medal from the Sochi Olympics in 2014 and a gold and a silver from the Pyeongchang Video games in 2018. Like different prime U.S. athletes in these Video games, she has spoken brazenly in regards to the distinctive strain and highlight scrutiny of the Winter Video games.

When Shiffrin competed right here on the Tofane Alpine Ski Middle, organizers performed dramatic music forward of every of her runs, clearly signaling the outsized expectations she confronted. Shiffrin has additionally battled extreme harm, PTSD and what she has described as deep grief after the dying of her father in 2020.

Talking after her first race in Cortina, Shiffrin talked about working to lastly discover her consolation zone in these Video games. "I did not fairly discover a consolation stage that permits me to supply full velocity," Shiffrin mentioned. "I will need to study what to do, what to regulate within the brief time we've earlier than the opposite [technical discipline] races."