Mikaela Shiffrin wins Alpine worlds giant slalom, ties gold medals record

Mikaela Shiffrin won her first giant slalom world title to become the most decorated skier in modern world Alpine skiing championships history with 13 medals, including seven golds.

Shiffrin, racing two days after parting with her coach of seven years, prevailed by 12 hundredths of a second over Italian Federica Brignone, combining times from two runs on Thursday. Norwegian Ragnhild Mowinckel earned bronze in Meribel, France.

Shiffrin led by 36 hundredths at the last intermediate split, but a late slip between gates had her questioning whether she would hold onto the lead.

“My whole body went numb down there. … So much stress,” she said on France TV. “I thought that maybe you just threw everything away, or maybe you’re going to go harder now.

“I don’t even know how to explain it, but my heart is just going crazy. I feel like I’m going to faint.”

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Shiffrin had the fastest first run by 12 hundredths over Frenchwoman Tessa Worley, who skied out of the second run.

Shiffrin broke her tie with Kjetil Andre Aamodt, a Norwegian standout of the 1990s and 2000s, for the most individual world championships medals since World War II.

Shiffrin also tied the modern record for individual gold medals with Austrian Toni Sailer (1950s), Frenchwoman Marielle Goitschel (1960s) and Swede Anja Pärson (2000s).

In the 1930s, German Christl Cranz won 15 medals and 12 golds when worlds were held annually with three events and fewer skiers (the International Ski Federation lists the top six finishers per race from that era). Worlds are now biennial with six individual events, including four that Shiffrin contests.

Shiffrin, 27, has 13 medals in 16 career individual world championships races dating to