Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) posted the fastest Run 1 time in the women's slalom on Wednesday, leaping out to a prodigious 0.82-second advantage (47.13).
Slalom races are often decided by less than half a second, so for Shiffrin to lead by nearly a second this early — prior to Run 2 — bodes well for the 108-time World Cup winner in search of her first Olympic medal since 2018.
According to NBC Sports' Nick Zaccardi, Shiffrin’s first-run advantage was the largest in an Olympic women’s slalom since 1960.
Midway through her traverse of the Tofane, it appeared that Shiffrin missed a gate, shades of her disappointing 2022 Olympic performances in Beijing. She froze, seemingly confused about which direction to carve next. Still, she remained on her line and in an instant, regained momentum.
That section wound up proving tricky for many of the competitors, and you could see Shiffrin, while in the leader's chair, explain her bewilderment.
"What did I just do?" she mouthed to her camp, an air of relief palpable. "What was that?"
Turns out, that was the defining moment of her elite Run 1.
Lena Duerr (GER), who finished 9th in Sunday's women's giant slalom, recorded the second-quickest slalom time (+0.82). The 34-year-old earned silver in the team event in Beijing in 2022.
Sweden's Cornelia Oehlund, a 20-year-old competing in her first Winter Games, claimed the third podium position heading into Run 2 (+1.00).
Team combined bronze medalist Paula Moltzan (USA) exploded out the starting gate and looked poised to make an addition to her new hardware collection. However, the 31-year-old stumbled around a gate not far from the finish line, causing her to bleed precious time. Moltzan finished 28th, good enough to qualify her for Run 2.
Wearing the 33rd bib, American AJ Hurt registered the 17th fastest time, an impressive showing for the Truckee, California, native. She'll also ski in Run 2.
Nina O'Brien, the fourth and final American competing in Wednesday's slalom, DNF'd (did not finish), officially ending her 2026 Winter Olympics.
Tune into Run 2 of the women's slalom at 7:30 a.m. ET on Peacock or NBCOlympics.com to watch Mikaela Shiffrin go for gold.