US teen Shiffrin leads 1st run of Bormio slalom

BORMIO, Italy (AP) — American teenager Mikeala Shiffrin fought through snow and rain to lead the opening run of a World Cup slalom Sunday.

Aiming for her second win of the season, Shiffrin clocked 57.72 seconds down the Stelvio course.

Maria Pietilae-Holmner of Sweden led Shiffrin at both checkpoints but couldn’t match the American in the final gates and crossed second, a slim 0.03 seconds behind.

Wendy Holdener of Switzerland stood third, 0.49 back, while Austrian specialist Marlies Schild was only 15th, 1.18 behind.

Schild won the past two races to set the record for most World Cup slalom victories with 35 and trails Shiffrin by just two points in the discipline standings.

The race was moved from Zagreb due to lack of snow in Croatia.

A men’s slalom is scheduled for Monday.