Mikaela Shiffrin Ends Medal Drought, Final Scores, Highlights from Winter Olympics Women's Slalom

Mikaela Shiffrin ended her stint at the 2026 Olympics by ending her medal drought in spectacular fashion with a dominant run in the women's slalom on Wednesday.

Shiffrin's time in the final was 1:39.10, finishing 1.5 seconds better than silver medalist Camille Rast (1:40.60). Anna Swenn-Larsson earned the bronze (1:40.81).

The American star earned her first Olympic medal since 2018 and fourth overall. She missed the podium in each of her past eight events at the Winter Games dating back to 2022. Her best finish during this streak prior to Wednesday was fourth in the 2022 team event and 2026 team combined.

With the slalom being her best event, Shiffrin started things off in spectacular fashion. She finished first in the opening round with a time of 47.13 seconds, nearly one full second better than the No. 2 finisher (Germany's Lena Dürr: 47.95 seconds).

Shiffrin one-upped herself in the final with a flawless run to secure her second career Olympic gold in this event. Her winning time of 1:39.10 was the fastest by a gold medalist in the women's slalom since Frida Hansdotter in 2018.

This was not only a triumphant moment for Shiffrin, but also a redemptive one after crashing out in the slalom final four years ago in Beijing. She said in the immediate aftermath of that result she felt "pretty awful."

Faced with the weight of her own expectations and the outside pressure from having not medaled in eight years, Shiffrin exorcised all of the demons in the span of 100 seconds.

"This is a feels like a really big moment," Shiffrin said on the NBC broadcast after the race (h/t Macklin Stern of NBC Olympics). "Honestly, the skiing is what I cared about. Of course a medal and gold, that's a dream come true. But at some point this week, I just said, like, stop dreaming. Just ski. This whole time, [I've been] waiting for two times, 45 seconds today to be able to ski. And I'm so happy to be able to do the right thing in the right moment."

Speaking to reporters after the win, Shiffrin spoke about feeling "proud" even before the event started and she used it to help her get through.

"I have built this up in my own mind. I've been a bit nervous for it. I've felt pressure. I came here for the turns between the start and the finish, and today, because of the help from my team ... my family, my mom, my psychologist, I was able to show up for two runs, 47 seconds, and do something that's within me, that I know how to do."

She also talked about the moment when she crossed the finish line and how i felt like the first time she "could accept" the reality of a world without her father following his death in February 2020.

"This was a moment I have dreamed about," she said. "I've also been very scared about this moment. Everything in life that you do after you lose someone you love is like a new experience. I still have so many moments where I resist this. I don't want to be in life without my dad. And maybe, today was the first time that I could accept this reality."

As for ending her Olympic drought, Shiffrin admitted the nature of the sport means accepting you are going to lose more often than you win.

"The reality of our sport is you lose a lot more than you win," Shiffrin said. "The one thing that's certain is you're not going to win everything. The thing that's uncertain is whether you can win again. Every single time I cross the finish line with great skiing and a victory, it's not with confidence. I'm wondering if I can do it again."

Shiffrin's three Olympic gold medals make her the most decorated American alpine skiier ever. She had been tied with Ted Ligety and Andrea Mead Lawrence for the top spot prior to Wednesday's historic moment.