Mikaela Shiffrin Breaks Olympic Medal Drought With Slalom Gold

It's the long-awaited third gold medal for American star.

Mikaela Shiffrin closed out a women's slalom win to break a long Olympics medal drought. | Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated

Mikaela Shiffrin's long wait for her third Olympic gold medal is over as the American slalom superstar conquered the competition on Wednesday to emerge victorious in the women's slalom.

Shiffrin entered first place in her first run and cruised in her second, finishing in a combined 1:39.10. Camille Rast of Switzerland earned silver and Sweden's Anna Swenn-Larsson took bronze. It was a vintage performance for Shiffrin, one of the more effective closers in the sport's history—outside of Olympic competition—as she pressed on the gas to leave all chasers behind.

With the victory, Shiffrin finally breaks through after a frustrating beginning to her quests in Italy. She failed to medal in the women's team event and giant slalom, only lengthening the dry spell at the Games and putting even more pressure on her to break through.

A GOLDEN MOMENT FOR MIKAELA SHIFFRIN. 🥇 pic.twitter.com/HVBmdC0TW2

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) February 18, 2026

It's been eight years since Shiffrin, one of the most recognized faces on Team USA, stood atop the podium. The path back to Olympic glory proved windier and bumpier than many expected when she captured her first gold back in 2014 at the Sochi Games. She followed that up with another gold and silver four years later in PyeongChang, but an inexplicable medal-less trip to Beijing 2022—featuring three crashes in her six events—left her hungrier.

The most decorated World Cup racer, with 108 wins to her name, has had to remain tough mentally through the drought. She also had to overcome a puncture wound to her abdomen as a result of a 2024 crash and the lingering PSTD that resulted from that incident.

Through it all, Shiffrin has embraced the moment and the weight of carrying her story.

“I think it’d be impossible not to take my experiences from previous Olympics, including Beijing, and sort of have those be somehow relevant in this Games,” Shiffrin said earlier during the Milan Cortina Games. “But I feel like sitting here right now, I feel so much gratitude to be here. It’s like excitement, there’s adrenaline, I’m certainly nervous at times, but really a lot of a sense of gratitude. I’m excited to take that with me for the entire time that we’re here.”

That story has a new, brighter chapter with a win built on perseverance and well worth the wait.

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