(Méribel) Andreja Slokar achieved her best result of her career to register a surprise victory in the slalom of the World Cup Finals in Méribel, in the French Alps.
Posted at 1:14 p.m.
The 24-year-old Slovenian completed the two runs in one minute, 36.54 seconds (1: 36.54) to beat Germany’s Lena Dürr, leader after the first run by 48 hundredths.
Slovak Petra Vlhova, winner of five of the previous eight slaloms and reigning Olympic and world champion, finished third, 81 hundredths behind Slokar. Vlhova was already assured of the small globe of discipline.
Winner of a parallel slalom in November, Slokar had never done better than a fourth place in slalom in her career. She had finished fifth in the Beijing Games, just 10 hundredths from the podium.
Canadian Ali Nullmeyer (1:37.81) finished sixth, 1.27 seconds behind Slokar, just behind junior world champion Croatian Zrinka Ljutic (1:37.76).
The other three Canadians in the running, Amelia Smart (1:38.10), Laurence St-Germain (1:38.48) and Erin Mielzynski (1:38.72), respectively finished the event in 9and11and and 15and squares.
The American Mikaela Shiffrin, already assured of the globe in the general classification, finished eighth. She could also get her hands on the small globe of the giant slalom, disputed on Sunday. She is in a four-way race with Vlhova, Olympic champion Sara Hector, as well as two-time world champion Tessa Worley.