MERIBEL, France (Reuters) - Canada’s Laurence St-Germain claimed a shock victory in the world championships slalom as she beat favorite Mikaela Shiffrin to the gold medal on Saturday.
The 28-year-old had never got close to winning a major race before but chose the perfect time to change that with a sensational second run to eclipse slalom great Shiffrin.
In denying the American a fifth world title in a discipline Shiffrin dominates, St-Germain became the first Canadian woman to win a slalom world title for 63 years.
Shiffrin led by 0.19 seconds from Swiss Wendy Holdener going into the medal run but a couple of errors through the early gates lost her time and she finished 0.57 seconds off the combined time set by the charging Canadian.
Remarkably, her second run time was only the 29th fastest although starting last meant the course was rutted.
Germany’s Lena Duerr took the bronze medal with Holdener failing to finish her second run after pushing too hard.