'Proud' Shiffrin comes 走者-up to Vlhova in 復帰 race
LEVI, Finland (AP) - Mikaela Shiffrin, racing for the first time since January, settled for second place behind Petra Vlhova in a World Cup slalom on Saturday but still "felt a lot of happiness" to finally get 支援する in the start gate.
"I enjoy a second place more than I did ever before," said Shiffrin, a 勝利者 of 66 World Cup races, "because I felt I was 押し進めるing and having some good skiing. It was the best I could today. I feel I can be more proud of that than I used to be."
Vlhova, the World Cup slalom 支持する／優勝者 from Slovakia, 地位，任命するd the fastest times in both runs to （警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域 the American by 0.18 seconds in Finnish Lapland, north of the 北極の Circle.
But for Shiffrin, the result wasn't her biggest 関心.
"It´s been really hard to imagine 存在 here again and racing. And 存在 on the podium, that´s just something I almost didn´t dare to really imagine, because you don´t want to be disappointed again," the 二塁打 Olympic and three-time 全体にわたる 支持する／優勝者 said.
Shiffrin's previous season ended 未熟に after the death of her father, Jeff Shiffrin. That was followed by the 取り消し of the season-ending races まっただ中に the coronavirus 突発／発生, and then she sat out the first race of the new season in Austria in October with a 支援する 傷害.
Petra Vlhova of Slovakia, 中心, 側面に位置するd by second placed Mikaela Shiffrin of the 部隊d 明言する／公表するs, left, and third placed Katharina Liensberger of Austria, celebrates after winning the alpine ski, women's World Cup slalom in Levi, Finland, Saturday, Nov. 21, 2020. (Jussi Nukari/Lehtikuva 経由で AP)
The 25-year-old Shiffrin had wondered whether she 手配中の，お尋ね者 to continue her ski racing career, but after Saturday's race she sounded 楽観的な.
"I hope from here I can keep going because I want to," she said. "I felt a lot of happiness skiing today, and racing. I had fun and I felt I did some really good skiing. After everything that has happened, it is really 冷静な／正味の to just be able to ski race and get a podium, and get a second place, that´s like, wow!"
Racing the second run on a course 始める，決める by her coach Livio Magoni, Vlhova earned her fourth straight slalom 勝利，勝つ.
"I tried to take this advantage that my coach 始める，決める the course, and I did it," Vlhova said. "It wasn´t 平易な, as it started snowing and also the course was a bit destroyed. But I did it and I am really happy. First victory in the first slalom of the season is always good."
Austria´s Katharina Liensberger was 0.57 behind in third, while the 残り／休憩（する） of the field, led by スイスの racer Wendy Holdener, was at least 1.35 off the lead.
Wearing bib No. 1, Shiffrin had opened the race with an error-解放する／自由な run.
Vlhova 追跡するd Shiffrin by 0.13 at the first 分裂（する） but was ahead of the American at all に引き続いて check points before finishing 0.15 ahead.
In the final run, Vlhova 最初 延長するd her lead to 0.52 but lost over three tenths as she failed to match Shiffrin´s pace in the flat finish section.
"In the second run you start last and want to 確認する you first run. That's 圧力. It was not a perfect run because I did some mistakes. But at the end it was green," said Vlhova, referring to the color in which 主要な times are 陳列する，発揮するd on a ビデオ-塀で囲む in the finish area.
In a streak that started in January 2017, the last 27 World Cup slaloms have all been won by either Shiffrin, with 19 勝利，勝つs, or Vlhova.
Vlhova won the season-long slalom 肩書を与える last year, 辛勝する／優位ing Shiffrin by 20 points, after the American had won it six times in the previous seven seasons.
The pair continued their dominance in Saturday´s race.
"Nothing´s changed, but also everything´s changed," Shiffrin said. "But it´s really fun to be here, to see everybody skiing. It´s fun to watch and for me it was fun to do."
Federica Brignone, who ended Shiffrin´s three-year 統治する as 全体にわたる 支持する／優勝者 last season, was 1.61 behind after the 開始 run but failed to finish her second and didn't 得点する／非難する／２０ World Cup points.
Italian チーム仲間 Marta Bassino, who won the season-opener last month, finished more than three seconds behind in 18th.
Slalom specialist Anna Swenn Larsson 行方不明になるd the race as the entire Swedish team 検疫d after a COVID-19 実験（する） for one of its coaches （機の）カム 支援する 肯定的な.
A 限られた／立憲的な number of 観客s were 許すd at the race.
Another women´s slalom is scheduled for Sunday.
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Petra Vlhova of Slovakia celebrates after winning the alpine ski, women's World Cup slalom in Levi, Finland, Saturday, Nov. 21, 2020. (Jussi Nukari/Lehtikuva 経由で AP)
Mikaela Shiffrin of the 部隊d 明言する／公表するs arrives at the finish area to take the second place at the alpine ski, women's World Cup slalom in Levi, Finland, Saturday, Nov. 21, 2020. (Jussi Nukari/Lehtikuva 経由で AP)
Mikaela Shiffrin of the 部隊d 明言する／公表するs competes during the first run of the alpine ski, women's World Cup slalom in Levi, Finland, Saturday, Nov. 21, 2020. (Jussi Nukari/Lehtikuva 経由で AP)
Katharina Liensberger of Austria competes during the first run of the alpine ski, women's World Cup slalom in Levi, Finland, Saturday, Nov. 21, 2020. (Jussi Nukari/Lehtikuva 経由で AP)
Katharina Liensberger of Austria celebrates after taking the third place at the alpine ski, women's World Cup slalom in Levi, Finland, Saturday, Nov. 21, 2020. (Jussi Nukari/Lehtikuva 経由で AP)
