PYEONCHANG RECAP DAY SIX: MIKAELA SCHIFFRIN WINS SECOND OLYMPIC GOLD; FIRST IN GIANT SLALOM

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Photo:  Gold medalist Mikaela Shiffrin of the United States poses on the podium after the Ladies' Giant Slalom on day six of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Yongpyong Alpine Centre on February 15, 2018 in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea.  Via Zimbio

February 15, 2018 (PyeonChang, South Korea) - Mikaela Schiffrin waited for her turn to race.  And waited.  And waited.  And...waited.  She waited for three days for winds to subside.  But finally, on Thursday, she got to hit the slopes.

And she made the winds pay.

After the start of the women's giant slalom was delayed for three days, it finally got underway on Thursday with almost no breeze and the 22-year-old from Vail, Colorado whizzed down her second slalom run with a time of 2:20.02, downing Italy's Manuela Moelgg, who led after the first run.

Norway's Ragnhild Mowinckel took home silver with 2:20.41, while another Italian, Federica Brignone, just barely tailed her for bronze with 2:20.48.

Shiffrin earned her second Olympic gold medal after winning gold in Sochi in 2014, but ECM thinks she was just happy to finally get to race, as she said, “Yeah! You don’t even know! Oh my gosh, last night I was like, are we ever going to race?...The conditions are great, the weather is beautiful, and it’s a pleasure to be racing today.”

Shiffrin was in contention for the silver after the first run, nestled between the two Italians.  She told reporters that her second run would be "a new race" and the gold medal proved her right.

Shiffrin wins Team USA's 101st gold medal and also wins the 101st medal for U.S. Ski and Snowboard since the Winter Games began in 1924.

Friday, Shiffrin defends her gold on the slalom slopes again.  If she does that, she'll be the first American alpine skiier two Olympic gold medals at the same Games since Andrea Mead Lawrence in 1952.


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