PYEONGCHANG, South Korea (AP) – Frida Hansdotter held off the conservative-skiing Mikaela Shiffrin and the rest of a tightly bunched field to win the Olympic slalom title Friday at the Pyeongchang Games.
In second after the opening run, the Swedish skier powered through the sun-splashed course on her final charge to finish in a combined time of 1 minute, 38.63 seconds. First-run leader Wendy Holdener of Switzerland was second and Katharina Gallhuber of Austria earned a surprise bronze.
The biggest surprise was Shiffrin finishing fourth. The American standout won the Olympic slalom title four years ago in Sochi when she was only 18. And she’s been dominant this season, winning five of seven World Cup slalom races along with a city event and a parallel slalom.
Holdener fully expected to come down and see Shiffrin leading.
She wasn’t. It was Hansdotter.