Hansdotter wins gold in women's slalom; Shiffrin misses podium

Feb. 16 (UPI) -- Swedish Alpine skier Frida Hansdotter was crowned in the women's slalom at the Winter Olympic Games Friday, while defending champion Mikaela Shiffrin of the United States witnessed a disappointing afternoon with her fourth-place finish.

Hansdotter collected a leading time of 1:38.63 seconds from two runs.

"I was just having a great feeling. To cross the finish line and seeing the green line, you know it's a medal, and a great chance to win a gold medal. I was screaming 'yes'," said Hansdotter.

Wendy Holdener of Switzerland was placed second, 0.05 seconds behind Hansdotter.

"I am really happy. I was nervous, and my legs weren't that relaxed on the first few gates. But I fight until the end. It isn't too bad to get second. This gives me confidence for the combined and the team event," commented Holdener.

The third position belonged to Austrian Katharina Gallhuber in 1:38.95.

Shiffrin, the gold medalist of the event four years ago, finished fourth, seeing her deficit against Gallhuber at 0.08 seconds.

"Disappointed for sure. I didn't really feel like myself today. I did a lot of training runs, a lot of free skiing, I was trying to get my really good feeling back but it just wasn't there today to ski the aggressive way I need to to be worthy of a medal.

"It's a really big bummer because I know how I have been skiing slalom all season long, it's so close. But I am really happy for the girls who did medal and I go back home and re-evaluate," she said.

Shiffrin won the gold in the women's giant slalom Thursday.

21-year-old Kong Fanying, the only Chinese women's Alpine skier in Pyeongchang, failed to finish the race.