Mikaela Shiffrin wins World Cup slalom title

ARE, Sweden, March 10 (UPI) -- Eighteen-year-old Mikaela Shiffrin sure is having a good year.

After winning the gold in slalom at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, last month, the U.S. skier took home her fourth World Cup slalom title in Are, Sweden, on Saturday.

The win gave her the season title for the second straight year.

She won with a two-run time of 1 minute and 50.66 seconds. Sweden's Maria Pietilae Holmner and Anna Swenn-Larsson came in second and third, respectively.

“I just keep thinking about [Emma],” Shiffrin said in reference to a young girl with leukemia she met a year ago, and who has served as an inspiration since then. “She was a little lucky charm for me. … It put everything in perspective. Since then, I’ve carried that same motto that I can win, whatever, Olympics, it is all great, but it could be a lot worse, so I have to be grateful for everything that I have.”

[Eurosport] [NBC Sports]