Shiffrin wins slalom at Olympics, Klaebo takes a record 10th gold and Canada gets OT victory
Feb 18, 2026, 10:33 AM
United States' Mikaela Shiffrin celebrates winning the gold medal in an alpine ski, women's slalom race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Redemption, at last, for Mikaela Shiffrin at the Winter Olympics.
The American superstar put in two dominant runs to win the women’s slalom on Wednesday by a massive 1.50 seconds, ending a run of eight straight Olympic races without a medal for arguably the greatest Alpine skier of all time.
It was the largest margin of victory in any Olympic Alpine skiing event since 1998 and the third biggest in women’s slalom, the event she won as a fresh-faced 18-year-old in Sochi in 2014.
After adding gold and silver to her collection in Pyeongchang in 2018, Shiffrin went 0 for 6 in Beijing in 2022 and failed to medal in either the team combined or giant slalom in Cortina.
Shiffrin became the first American skier to win three Alpine gold medals.
Canada avoided what would have been a stunning quarterfinal exit at the Olympics by rallying to beat Czechia 4-3 in overtime. Nick Suzuki tied it on a deflection with 3:27 left, Mitch Marner scored in OT.
Canada fell behind with 7:42 remaining when Ondrej Palat scored on an odd-man rush off a pass from Martin Necas. The goal sent the Czech bench and fans into a wild celebration, but it was short-lived.
Canada even staying in the tournament has a major concern after losing Sidney Crosby to injury five minutes into the second period. Crosby’s right leg appeared to buckle bracing for contact from rugged Czechia defenseman Radko Gudas.
Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo’s golden run continued as the Norwegian cross-country star secured his fifth gold at these Games — and a record 10th overall — by winning the men’s team sprint.
Klaebo beat back a challenge from the United States to improve on his own record tally, racing with Einar Hedegart to win in 18 minutes, 28.9 seconds.
Americans Ben Ogden and Gus Schumacher were 1.4 seconds behind for the silver, while Italy’s Elia Barp and Federico Pellegrino pleased the home crowd by taking bronze.
Sweden won gold in the women’s team sprint.
Su Yiming of China won the gold medal in men’s slopestyle snowboarding.
Su collected his fourth career medal and his second of these Games on his 22nd birthday.
Taiga Hasegawa of Japan took silver and American rider Jake Canter claimed the bronze.
Su’s first of three runs that earned him 82.41 points proved enough after no rival was able to better that score.
It was China’s first gold of the Milan Cortina Games.
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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
