Olympic champion Shiffrin takes record 8th slalom win of season but main rival Aicher is 2nd

ÅRE, Sweden (AP) — After crossing the finish line for her record-equaling eighth World Cup slalom win of the season on Sunday, Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin bent over and let out a loud scream.

Probably a combination of celebration and relief, as her main rival in the overall standings was second to keep the pressure on the American star.

Racing in sunny conditions, Shiffrin dominated the last race before the World Cup Finals to beat Emma Aicher of Germany by 0.94 seconds, with Switzerland’s Wendy Holdener a second off the pace in third.

“That was really amazing. I was like pretty nervous, pretty excited, but in the end it was challenging to ski,” Shiffrin said. “I pushed really hard. Quite happy to get to the finish, too.”

Second place marked the career-best result in slalom for Aicher, who in recent weeks has become a threat to Shiffrin’s quest for what would be the American’s record-equaling sixth overall title.

With four events remaining – one race in each discipline – the German all-rounder trails leader Shiffrin by 140 points, with each race win worth 100 points.

“Just the fact that I can stand here and say that I’m in contention is huge for me. I am very proud of that," said the 22-year-old Aicher, who finished 15th in the overall standings last season.

"But Shiffrin is still far ahead of me, so it’s going to be very hard,” the German added.

Shiffrin had lost five points of her advantage when she finished one spot behind Aicher in fifth in Saturday’s GS, before gaining 20 on her rival following Sunday’s win.

The American called her battle with Aicher for the big crystal globe “exciting.”

“There is still some pushing to do. Emma is skiing just incredible, in every event. So, I try to stay in fighting spirit,” said Shiffrin, who could match the women's record of six overall titles set by Austrian standout Annemarie Moser-Pröll in the 1970s.

"It’s the kind of thing that motivates me when we are off the slopes and to keep going with the mood and the attitude. But whenever I’m in the start gate, I just try to have the best skiing I can do."

Focusing on slalom and GS this season, and two starts in super-G, Shiffrin has amassed 1,286 points in total, including 880 from the slalom discipline. She already locked up her record ninth slalom globe in January, weeks before the Olympics.

Aicher has gathered nine podiums this season across slalom, super-G and downhill, with three wins from the speed events.

“You can see she is quite calm and collected," Shiffrin said about Aicher. "To be honest, she really deserves that. She has been the top, top contender across all the disciplines, that is just incredible to see someone doing this, because she is actually the only one."

Shiffrin also won eight slaloms in the 2018-19 season, a feat previously only achieved by Croatian great Janica Kostelic 25 years ago.

Shiffrin raised her career tally to 72 wins in slalom and 109 overall — both are World Cup records.

Åre has been a good setting in Shiffrin’s career.

She won a record seven slaloms in the Swedish resort, including her first career victory in December 2012. She also took the world titles in both slalom and super-G there in 2019.

No other skier ever won more than two World Cup races in Åre.

The World Cup Finals in Norway for both women and men open with the speed events in Kvitfjell next weekend, followed by the GS and slalom in Hafjell on March 24-25.

AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing

United States' Mikaela Shiffrin speeds down the course to win an alpine ski, women's World Cup slalom, in Are, Sweden, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

United States' Mikaela Shiffrin, center, winner of an alpine ski, women's World Cup slalom, poses with second placed Germany's Emma Aicher, left, and third placed Switzerland's Wendy Holdener, in Are, Sweden, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

United States' Mikaela Shiffrin listens to the national anthem on the podium after winning an alpine ski, women's World Cup slalom, in Are, Sweden, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

United States' Mikaela Shiffrin reacts after winning an alpine ski, women's World Cup slalom, in Are, Sweden, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

Austria's Katharina Truppe speeds down the course, during an alpine ski, women's World Cup slalom, in Are, Sweden, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

Germany's Emma Aicher speeds down the course, during an alpine ski, women's World Cup slalom, in Are, Sweden, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

United States' Mikaela Shiffrin prepares to start, during an alpine ski, women's World Cup slalom, in Are, Sweden, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

United States' Mikaela Shiffrin speeds down the course, during an alpine ski, women's World Cup slalom, in Are, Sweden, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

DENVER (AP) — A Frontier Airlines plane hit and killed a pedestrian on the runway of the Denver International Airport during takeoff, airport authorities said, sparking an engine fire and forcing passengers to evacuate.

The plane, on route from Denver to Los Angeles International Airport, “reported striking a pedestrian during takeoff at DEN at approximately 11:19 p.m. on Friday," the airport's official X account wrote.

A spokesperson for the airport said the pedestrian, who jumped a perimeter fence, has died. They said the unidentified person was hit two minutes after entering the airport. The person is not believed to be an airport employee.

“We're stopping on the runway,” the pilot tells the control tower according to the site ATC.com. “We just hit somebody. We have an engine fire.”

The pilot tells the air traffic controller they have “231 souls” on board and that an “individual was walking across the runway.”

The air traffic controller responds that they are “rolling the trucks now" before the pilot tells the tower they “have smoke in the aircraft. We are going to evacuate on the runway.”

Frontier Airlines said in a statement flight 4345 was the one involved in the collision and that “smoke was reported in the cabin and the pilots aborted takeoff.” It was not clear whether the smoke was linked to the crash with the pedestrian.

“The Airbus A321 was carrying 224 passengers and seven crew members,” the airline said. “We are investigating this incident and gathering more information in coordination with the airport and other safety authorities.”

Passengers were then evacuated via slides and the emergency crew bused them to the terminal. The airport spokesperson said 12 passengers suffered minor injuries and five were taken to local hospitals.

Denver Airport said the National Transportation Safety Board had been notified and that runway 17L, where the incident took place, will remain closed while an investigation is conducted. It is expected to open later today.

The pedestrian death came a day after a Delta Air Lines employee was killed while on the job at the Orlando International Airport. In a statement, the airline said the employee was killed Thursday night without providing details of the incident nor the name of the employee.

“We are focused on extending our full support to family and taking care of our Orlando team during this difficult time,” the airline said. "We are working with local authorities as a full investigation gets underway to determine what occurred.”

FILE - A Frontier Airlines jetliner taxis down a runway for take off from Denver International airport on Nov. 25, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)