Laurence St-Germain causes upset as Mikaela Shiffrin misses out on second World Championships gold in Meribel

Laurence St-Germain caused an upset to win gold in the slalom at the World Championships in Meribel, France. Mikaela Shiffrin, who was chasing a second gold and third medal at the championships, led after the first run, with two-time world champion Wendy Holdener in second. Ad St-Germain occupied third spot, but when Holdener failed to finish and Shifrin was unable to match her first effort, the Canadian took advantage with a stunning run and time of 50.00 seconds to land Canada’s first slalom gold in 63 years.

World ChampionshipsShiffrin explains 'nervous' feeling ahead of gold-medal winning giant slalom runYESTERDAY AT 17:55 “I was not expecting this, it’s unbelievable,” St-Germain said after she was confirmed champion. “I was really stressed, I felt nauseous. “I was waiting for the time because I wasn’t sure,” she said when asked what it felt like crossing the finish line.

“And then I was like, it’s impossible. “But I was asking which side I should go [on the podium] for second because I didn’t know, but in the end I had to be in the middle! It’s crazy.” Shiffrin’s spectacular first run worth a time of 52.54 seconds gave her the early advantage, with two-time world champion Holdener her closest competitor, 0.19 seconds adrift of the American. The remainder of the field had a significant margin of more than nine-tenths of a second to make up in the second run if they were to deny Shiffrin her fifth World Championships slalom gold.