Mikaela Shiffrin wins record 4th consecutive world title

Despite suffering from a chest infection that left her gasping for breath, Mikaela Shiffrin did the nearly unthinkable on Saturday by winning her fourth consecutive slalom world title at the Åre 2019 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships. She had to battle back in the second run after sitting in third position following the first leg. While amazing even herself, she became the first skier in history to win four consecutive World Championship golds in a single discipline. She started off the series with gold in the super-G, picked up GS bronze, and concluded again with gold.

Anna Swenn Larsson of Sweden, who actually lives in Åre, delivered a home performance to remember by skiing into the silver medal position to give the host country its first hardware of the championships. In Maribor just before the start of this event, she skied her way back onto the World Cup podium for the first time since 2014. In Åre, she said she didn't really feel any pressure from the crowd or the event despite its magnitude and the fact that it was being contested literally in her backyard.

Petra Vlhova moved up from fifth position after the first run to collect her third medal of these World Championships with bronze. She adds to her medal haul including silver in the alpine combined and gold in giant slalom. It came as a surprise to her after Wendy Holdener of Switzerland, the first run leader, encountered great difficulty in the second run and could not hold her time. Still, Holdener leaves the event with two gold medals of her own in alpine combined and the alpine team event.

The ladies' competitions at Åre 2019 have officially come to an end, but the men will race one final time in the slalom set for Sunday 17th February.

See complete results from today's race here.