Mikaela Shiffrin (left) and Camille Rast (right) at the World Cup in Kranjska Gora. © APA/afp / JURE MAKOVEC

Even Shiffrin is at a loss for words: "Just watched"

On Sunday afternoon, Mikaela Shiffrin's unprecedented winning streak came to an end at the World Cup in Kranjska Gora – and that through a performance that one would normally expect from the US superstar herself.

04 January 2026

From: never

It was an explosion of emotion, the likes of which hadn't been seen from Mikaela Shiffrin in a long time. Shortly after the record-breaking World Cup winner had distanced her competition by 1,69 seconds with a phenomenal performance, she pumped her right fist in the air and roared with joy. Her time on the scoreboard couldn't have been any greener; the number one was once again displayed next to her name. But it was only a snapshot in time: Camille Rast, who had led at the halfway point, was still at the top, and she had indeed improved her time that afternoon in the Slovenian Alps, overtaking Shiffrin. snatched away his seventh consecutive slalom victory across seasons.

“Like everyone else, I just watched,” the defeated Olympic and World Champion explained afterwards in a media briefing, paying tribute to the Swiss athlete: “I was so thrilled and impressed by Camille’s performance. Winning two in a row is very difficult.” Rast had already been defeated the day before. rose to victory in the giant slalom.

No excuses: Just race better than Shiffrin.

As Shiffrin launched herself out of the starting gate, her aggressiveness was already evident, and through the slalom, she built up more momentum with every turn – mistakes were virtually nonexistent. The 30-year-old therefore had absolutely no excuses to make afterward. "When I saw how she skied in the first run, I knew I had to give 120 percent to have a chance," Shiffrin said in an interview with the ORFBut even 120 percent wasn't enough; in the end, perfection was beaten by perfection.

Mikaela Shiffrin congratulates Camille Rast on her victory. © APA/afp / JURE MAKOVEC

For Rast, her performance on the slope in Kranjska Gora was anything but a routine walk in the park. The duel with Shiffrin began in her mind; before her start, the 26-year-old world champion already knew – partly due to the noise in the finish area – that Shiffrin had set off a spectacular run. "I caught a bit of what she had done. I knew she was very fast and that I had to be even faster," said Rast. "I simply focused on myself and gave it my all."

Rast keeps a low profile

Rast now sits in second place in both the overall World Cup standings and the slalom and giant slalom World Cups. In both the slalom and overall standings, Shiffrin (823 points/580 points) leads Rast (703/362), while in the giant slalom, the Swiss skier (341) is only ahead of Austria's Julia Scheib (460). Will the focus of the technical specialist, who has been struggling with hip problems in recent months, now shift? "I don't want to think too much about points. Just keep going and keep skiing," she succinctly summarized her motto.