Mikaela Shiffrin takes lead in World Cup standings on Super-G finish

Mikaela Shiffrin took a clear lead in the World Cup standings on Saturday after finishing second in the super-G in Lenzerheide, Switzerland.

The race was Shiffrin’s first since a challenging Winter Olympics last month. The top American skier left Beijing with no medals after uncharacteristically skiing out of three races, including her two favorite events, the slalom and giant slalom.

.@MikaelaShiffrin is back on the podium!

In her first race since the 2022 Winter Olympics, she captures second place in the super-G in Lenzerheide, Switzerland and takes the World Cup overall standings lead. @usskiteam pic.twitter.com/nJlxT6iFoj

— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) March 5, 2022

Shiffrin clocked in just 0.38 behind winner Romane Miradoli, while Super-G Olympic champion Lara Gut-Behrami came in third, 0.88 back of Miradoli.

Swiss tennis star Roger Federer was in attendance for the race and congratulated Shiffrin after her impressive run.

“After the last couple of weeks, I really appreciate this,” Shiffrin said. “I finally just actually enjoyed skiing for a day. I just want to focus on that.”

The 27-year-old entered Saturday’s race tied with defending overall champion Petra Vlhová in World Cup points. The Slovakian skier, however, finished 18th in Lenzerheide and fell 67 points behind Shiffrin in the standings.

The battle for points will continue on Sunday with the giant slalom.