Vomiting Shiffrin upstaged by Hansdotter in slalom

PYEONGCHANG

Sweden's Frida Hansdotter upstaged defending champion Mikaela Shiffrin to win the women's Olympic slalom on Friday as the ailing American finished out the medals in fourth after vomiting.

The 32-year-old Hansdotter clocked an aggregate of 1min 38.63sec, Switzerland's Wendy Holdener taking silver at 0.05sec and unheralded Austrian Katharina Gallhuber bronze (+0.32).

Shiffrin, who vomited at the start gate and complained of virus-like symptoms after a disappointing first leg, was 0.40sec off the pace.

"I don't know, it was kind of sudden. It almost felt like a virus kind of puking, less about nerves," said Shiffrin, who claimed gold in Thursday's giant slalom,
The 22-year-old had come in fourth, 0.48sec behind Holdener, on the first run.

Dark-horse Gallhuber, just 20 and only ninth-fastest first time out, laid down a stunning second run to put herself in pole.

The Austrian held off Shiffrin and Sweden's Anna Swenn Larsson, but then saw Hansdotter and Holdener leapfrog her as they kept their nerve down the Rainbow 1 course in bitterly cold, bright conditions.

Hansdotter's gold tops a career that has seen her win just four World Cup races and win three slalom medals at world championships (silver 2015; bronze 2013, 2017).

Her consistency ultimately came right as she skied the second fastest runs on both occasions in front of a sparse, wind-swept crowd at the Yongpyong Alpine Centre.