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Croatia’s Zrinka Ljutic wins her third World Cup race of the season, while Mikaela Shiffrin finishes 10th in her return from injury.
Croatian skier Zrinka Ljutic grabbed her third World Cup win of the season on Thursday in the women’s slalom in Courchevel, France.
Meanwhile, American star Mikaela Shiffrin finished 10th in her first race back after a serious injury two months ago.
Ljutic, who led after the first run, finished with a combined time of 1:45.06 under the lights at Emile-Allais Stadium. She beat Sweden’s Sara Hector by 1.26 seconds, while Germany’s Lena Duerr took third place.
This win is a huge moment for Ljutic, who had never won a World Cup race just five weeks ago.
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The victory also pushed her into second place in the slalom standings, just behind Switzerland’s Camille Rast, who finished fifth.
“I’m living the dream and don’t wake me up,” Ljutic said after her big win.
Switzerland’s Wendy Holdener was in second place after the first run but fell during her second run and did not finish.
Shiffrin’s Return to Competition
For Shiffrin, this was more than just a race—it was a big step in her comeback. She hadn’t competed since a crash last November left her with serious injuries.
After her first run, she was in fifth place, 0.87 seconds behind Ljutic. But in the second run, she dropped to 10th place, finishing 2.04 seconds back. Still, she was all smiles as she crossed the finish line, waving to the cheering crowd.
“It was a very important step in my recovery to see how I am stacking up with the top skiers in the world and to see what I can work on to improve my skiing,” Shiffrin said. “I’m so happy to be back competing. Hopefully, I get faster in the next weeks.”
The 29-year-old American started this season needing three more victories to reach 100 World Cup wins.
She was well on her way with two straight slalom victories in Finland and Austria last November. But then, in Killington, Vermont, she crashed just before the finish line, sending one of her skis flying and landing her in the safety netting.
Shiffrin is already the most successful Alpine skier in World Cup history, surpassing Ingemar Stenmark’s record of 86 wins in March 2023. Now, her journey toward the 100-win milestone continues.