Updated Feb. 21, 2014 6:35 p.m. ET
Gold medal winner Mikaela Shiffrin of the U.S. celebrates as she finishes the second run of the women's slalom. Associated Press
Sochi, Russia
Mikaela Shiffrin bobbled at the midpoint of her women's slalom second run Friday night, lurching far enough off her line that it seemed she would miss a gate and the chance at Olympic gold.
But the 18-year-old righted herself and continued her singular trajectory as a great American ski-racing prodigy, crossing the finish line as the youngest American woman ever to win the slalom.
"You can visualize this in your head and you can mentally prepare," Shiffrin said. "You can make the moment happen and create your miracle. But when it does happen, it's hard to put into words how incredible it is."
Shiffrin's two-run time was 1:44.54. She was .53 seconds faster than second-place Marlies Schild of Austria, and the skiers' respective finishes served as bookends in the history of the event.
At age 32, Schild is the oldest medalist ever in the slalom. It was her third medal in the event in three Winter Games and fourth Olympic medal overall.
"I think I won the silver medal," Schild said, beaming. "I did not lose any gold medals."
Austria's Kathrin Zettel took bronze with a two-run time of 1:45.35.
For Schiffrin, Schild was "kind of my inspiration for my slalom skiing. I always wanted to challenge her, to get a step up, and see if I can do what she does, but better," she said, laughing.
Despite a sore throat, Shiffrin was confident heading into the race. Roland Pfeifer, U.S. women's technical head coach, said that on Friday morning she told him she planned to do what U.S. teammate Ted Ligety did Wednesday in the men's Olympic giant slalom: win a gold medal.
Shiffrin took a .49-second lead on her first run Friday and seemed ready to coast to victory in the event, in which the times of two runs are added together for an overall time.
Shiffrin started strong and fast out of the gate. She headed into a straight line of tightly packed gates but found one gate was "just a little bit softer," she said. She lost her balance, lurched and very nearly missed the next gate. At that point, she feared she would veer off the course.
Eighteen-year-old American Mikaela Shiffrin finished more than a half second faster than her closest competitor in the slalom on Friday, winning the gold medal. Michael Kappeler/DPA/ZUMAPRESS.com
"That was pretty terrifying for me," she said. "Cause there I was, I'm like, 'Alright, I'm just going to, you know, go win my first medal,' and then in the middle of the run I'm like, 'guess not!'"
Her mother, Eileen Shiffrin, said, "When her ski went up I almost died. I was like, Noooo!"
Shiffrin said she kept composure by recalling Thursday night's ladies' figure-skating final.
"It seemed like the difference between the girls who, you know, get the win and the ones who don't are the ones who keep their skates moving," Shiffrin said. "And I was just trying to take that into today, just keep my skis moving no matter what."
On Tuesday, Shiffrin finished fifth in the giant slalom, but the slalom is her signature race. She is the reigning world champion.
U.S. skier Lindsey Vonn has been a star in skiing's high-speed events for years, winning medals in the downhill and super-G in 2010. (Vonn missed these Games with a knee injury.)
But until Friday, an American woman hadn't won an Olympic slalom race since Barbara Cochran in 1972.
Shiffrin has been one of the world's best skiers since her midteens. Last February, at age 17, Shiffrin became skiing's youngest female world champion since 1985. She built on her talent and uncanny balance with an unusual approach for a high-level competitorshe doesn't compete much.
Instead Shiffrin practiced endlessly, carving turns to perfection. She also studied video of former champions, especially former Croatian champion Janica Kostelic, who won six Olympic medals.
"The way she trains, the volume she trains, she probably is 25 already," Pfeifer said. "So it's kind of normal that she's going to ski the ways she skis because she trains so much. She really thinks 24-7 about skiing."
Shiffrin said she often had heard herself compared with Vonn or Tina Maze, the Slovenian skier who won two golds in Sochi and finished eighth Friday.
"It's amazing to be compared to them, and I'm really honored to have that comparison," Shiffrin said. "But I also don't want to be young Tina Maze or the next Lindsey Vonn. I want to be Mikaela Shiffrin. Hopefully, this gold medal is gonna prove that."
Write to Rachel Bachman at rachel.bachman@wsj.com and Sara Germano at sara.germano@wsj.com
Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304914204579397090311411398.html
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