Mikaela Shiffrin is one clean run away from ending an eight-year Olympic medal drought.
The American skiing star nailed her first trip through the women’s slalom at Tofane on Wednesday, her time of 47.13 giving her a healthy 0.82-second lead over Germany’s Lena Duerr among the early competitors.
The 30-year-old Shiffrin, the most decorated skier of all time, was quick out of the gate but appeared to be in trouble after she stumbled through one gate about halfway down.
She recovered quickly and then pumped her first — a rare display of public emotion — when she saw her time.