Petra Vlhova, from Slovakia, used her height advantage to outperform the overall World Cup leader, Mikaela Shiffrin, in both runs of the final round of a parallel slalom event in Oslo on Tuesday.
Standing at 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 meters), Vlhova skillfully maneuvered around the gates, while Shiffrin, at 5 feet 7 inches (1.70 meters), had a more challenging time navigating her path.
The parallel events involve wider gates with panels compared to traditional slaloms, which have poles as gates, making it a tough challenge for the racers.
Vlhova finished 0.39 seconds ahead of Shiffrin, claiming her sixth career win and her second victory in just five days after triumphing in a giant slalom event in Semmering, Austria, last week. She took a lead of 0.21 seconds after her initial run.
In the women’s competition, Wendy Holdener from Switzerland secured third place, defeating Anna Swann Larsson from Sweden.
In the men’s event, Marco Schwarz from Austria clinched his first World Cup victory after his rival Dave Ryding missed a gate during the race. Schwarz’s previous best performance was a second-place finish in a classic slalom event in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy, last month.
Ryding was aiming to become the first British skier in the 51-year history of the World Cup to win a race. He had also finished in second place in a classic slalom event in Kitzbuehel, Austria, a couple of years ago. Ryding managed to beat the overall World Cup leader, Marcel Hirscher, in the quarterfinals, as Hirscher straddled a gate while attempting to make up for his first-run deficit.
Ramon Zenhaeusern from Switzerland secured third place, while the Olympic champion Andre Myhrer from Sweden had a challenging second run in the final.
Both Vlhova and Schwarz had won gold medals at the 2012 Youth Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria.
