Mikaela Shiffrin Misses Out on Record-Setting Medal By 0.05 Seconds in Slalom Event

Mikaela Shiffrin missed out on winning a record-setting 16th career world championships medal by .05 seconds on Saturday.

The American star posted a combined time of 1:59.37 in her two slalom runs to finish fifth overall. Austria's Katharina Liensberger won the bronze with a time of 1:59.32.

Camille Rast and Wendy Holdener took the top two spots. Rast's win marked her first medal at the world championships. Holdener now has nine career medals at this event, including six silvers.

Paula Moltzan finished fourth between Liensberger and Shiffrin with a time of 1:59.35.

Shiffrin was in a good position to medal after her first run, posting the third-fastest time and .72 seconds behind Rast for the top spot. The second run was a real struggle for her, posting the 12th-fastest time in the field and missing out on the podium.

"It’s a little bit strange to be making a return midseason, and especially world championships," Shiffrin told NBC Sports’ Heather Cox after the race (h/t The Athletic's Zack Pierce). "It’s sort of strange to balance the feeling of, ‘I just want to make progress,’ and then the feeling of, ‘Where do medals fit into that?’ I think winning one gold was out-of-this-world beyond expectations."

A medal would have given Shiffrin 16 in her storied career at the world championships. It would have broken a tie with Christl Cranz from Germany who won 15 medals between 1934 to '38.

Shiffrin tied Cranz's record earlier in the week in the women's team combined event with Breezy Johnson when they won gold. Shiffrin competed in the slalom and Johnson in the downhill. They finished with a combined time of 2:40.89, .39 seconds ahead of Holdener and Lara Gut-Behrami.