Ahead of Milano Cortina 2026, Mikaela Shiffrin stamped her authority in the snow-clad mountains for the 102th time in the Levi World Cup Slalom in Levi, Finland just 10 days ago. Her dominance run continued with another World Cup win in Gurgl, Austria, even going as far as to calling it ‘her best skiing ever.’ However, while Shiffrin’s fate favored her, another young skier wasn’t so fortunate. During the warm-up, Neja Dvornik sustained a season-ending injury that required surgical intervention.

“The day did not start well, as Neja fell and injured herself during the warm-up. She is currently undergoing examinations. More will be known when the examinations are completed,” said Aleš Valent, coach of the Slovenian women’s A team. Upon further examination at the hospital in Austria, doctors confirmed that she had suffered fractures of the right tibia and fibula above the ankle, which require surgery.

After the surgery, she would have to head home to Slovenia, where she would require complete rest and rehabilitation, which puts her out of this season, which includes the much-anticipated Winter Games, too. The news was first broken through the FIS Alpine X handle. This news came as a big setback for the Slovenian team, considering the fact that in early November, their best skier Andreja Slokar also injured herself during a training session in Solden, Austria.

Slokar ruptured the cruciate ligament in her right knee, ruling her out of the 2025–2026 season. It’s worth noting that she suffered the same injury in 2022/23, but on her left knee, which forced her to miss that season as well. After this series of unfortunate setbacks, the Slovenian team is under significant pressure, and her recovery presents another tough challenge for the squad.

Well, while Slovenia is facing a tough time, America appears to be at the top of the winter games food chain right now. Mikaela Shiffrin is headed home as the overall World Cup leader. She is on a two-event winning streak after dominating the Slalom on Sunday. Winning her 103rd World Cup certainly made her emotional as she expressed her thoughts.

“I had to push so hard,” Mikaela Shiffrin said after her Austria masterclass

Americans had a great day in Gurgl, especially Mikaela Shiffrin, who continued her dominance with her 103rd Alpine Skiing World Cup win. It’s amazing how her chances of being a sure medal contender for Team USA at the upcoming Winter Olympics in February continue to get stronger by the day! However, even the best in class have to put in that extra set of effort on some days.

“I had to push so hard but it was really nice with the sun on the second run,” said Mikaela Shiffrin after the win.

Shiffrin now has about 66 World Cup wins in slalom, two out of two just this season. Luckily, the conditions today supported her well too.

“Last year I remember it was so dark so this was a really nice surprise. It was pretty much exactly how I expected. Not easy but I knew the others were pushing so there’s no choice, you have to go,” remarked Shiffrin.

Well, clearly it was a mixed day out on the snow for the skiers. On one hand, Americans had a great outing, whereas Neja Dvornik had to end her season abruptly after the injury!