Special envoy to Courchevel-Méribel
This should have been the chronicle of a first coronation announced.
Holder of the world title in combined, impressive leader of the general classification of the World Cup with her 11 successes, launched in a formidable hunt for the mythical record of victories in the World Cup of Ingemar Stenmark (85 for the American against 86 for the Swedish), Mikaela Shiffrin could not start the World Championships organized in Méribel otherwise than by adorning himself with gold.
But as so often when slalom poles show up, history is never completely written in advance...
However, this Monday at the end of the morning, the American had perfectly fulfilled the first part of her contract by signing the 6th fastest time in the super G, thus avoiding the pitfalls of the Roc de Fer in Méribel, symbolized in particular by this passage from light to the shade of the forest which surprised more than one of its competitors.
In 1'11''24, Mikaela Shiffrin had not forced her talent, nor taken excessive risks.
Even the brilliant performance of the Italian Federica Brignone, who had relegated her to almost a second (96 hundredths precisely), did not then seem sufficient to dethrone the queen of Colorado.
Until the final twist, when the gold evaporated for Vail's tornado at the penultimate gate, which she acrobatically straddled.
Letting the gold return to Brignone,
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Mikaela Shiffrin JEFF PACHOUD / AFP
The memory of his zero points from the last Olympic Games in 2022 resurfaces
Cruelly, Shiffrin had just seen the prospect of winning his 7th world title fly away, at only 27 years old, which would have allowed him to join the French Marielle Goitschel and the Swede Anja Paerson, five more units from the record holder, Germany's Christl Cranz.
“
Obviously, my first feeling is the disappointment of not having finished, and therefore finding myself without a medal
, commented the American in the finish area.
But at the same time, I'm happy with the ski I produced
.”
Very quickly, the ghosts of Beijing then resurfaced, namely the memory of its zero points at the last Olympic Games in 2022. "
Personally, what happened to me today does not remind me of Beijing, but I know that many people will do the comparison for me.
In any case, as I have said many times before these Worlds, I am not afraid that it will happen again.
And then you know, it happened to me and I still survived.
This season, I have done a few races that will remain etched in my memory and if I don't have any medals here, too bad, I will still be happy with my season
.
And the American to conclude, with a smile: "
But obviously, I have the
.”
Appointment is already made for her on Wednesday during the super G.
