Mikaela Shiffrin Finishes Sixth in Alpine Skiing Season Opener, Lara Gut-Behrami Wins

Despite competitive performance, Shiffrin's sixth place highlights a stronger start than previous season, while Swiss Gut-Behrami clinches close victory in season-opening World Cup giant slalom.

Mikaela Shiffrin finished sixth in the season-opening World Cup giant slalom in Soelden, Austria, an improvement from her 13th place start in the previous season.
Despite not placing in the top three, Shiffrin remains positive and sees areas for improvement, noting her performance is a step-by-step process.
The win was secured by Swiss skier Lara Gut-Behrami, who rebounded from a fourth-place finish in the first run to narrowly edge out Italy's Federica Brignone by two-hundredths of a second.
Brignone and Petra Vlhova of Slovakia, both former overall champions, finished in second and third place respectively.
Despite being one of the most competitive disciplines on the women's circuit, Shiffrin managed to win seven giant slaloms last season, setting a record of 88 career World Cup wins.