Skiing season opens with Shiffrin approaching 100th win, notable comebacks and new safety measures

By ERIC WILLEMSEN The Associated Press

FILE - Switzerland's Lara Gut Behrami poses with the alpine ski, women's World Cup overall trophy, in Saalbach, Austria, on March 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/Marco Trovati]

SOELDEN, Austria (AP) — A series of high-profile crashes in the previous Alpine skiing season throws a shadow over the start of the new World Cup campaign this weekend. Many of the injured skiers have not sufficiently recovered yet for a return to the start gates. But two giant slaloms on a glacier in Austria will open a pre-Olympic season that offers ski racing fans a lot to look forward to. American star Mikaela Shiffrin aims for three more victories to get her record-extending 100th career World Cup win. Shiffrin says she feels “energized by people bringing up 100.”