Tamara McKinney came to the race and cheered on Shiffrin from the finish. Photo/Tom Kelly/USSA

By USSA

ASPEN, Colo. — It was a historic day Saturday at the Nature Valley Aspen Winternational, as Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, Colo.) dominated her competitors by over three seconds to take the first American women’s win at Aspen since 1981.

It had been a high and dry 34 years, with no American standing on top of the Audi FIS Ski World Cup podium at Aspen since Tamara McKinney of Squaw Valley won in 1981. And Shiffrin didn’t just break the record; she annihilated it, winning the race by 3.07 seconds. That margin broke yet another record—it was the largest women’s slalom win margin since 1968.

“It’s a special day. I was a little bit nervous, but I handled it well,” said Shiffrin. “My skis were great. Everything set up perfectly. I don’t know if the stars will ever align like that again.”

Shiffrin finished ahead of Veronika Velez Zuzulova of Slovakia and Frida Hansdotter of Sweden. “I really charged! I fought hard in the second run,” said Shiffrin, who crashed two gates from the finish in Friday’s GS. “[Friday] was a big disappointment, so I had some anger. I took that into [Saturday].”

Resi Stiegler (Jackson, Wyo.) was the only other American to make the flip, taking 15th place. It was her first race back after her knee injury.

Lila Lapanja (Incline Village)—who was racing her first World Cup—and Paula Moltzan (Lakeville, Minn.) did not finish first run.