Olympic ski champion Shiffrin misses race after warmup fall

Lindsey Vonn won her first giant slalom since her career-altering 2013 World Championships crash, proving Saturday (against an unaccomplished field) that she’s the world’s best healthy and active skier.

Lindsey Vonn takes first place during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup women’s giant slalom on December 12, 2015 in Are, Sweden.

“She basically flipped over into the net”, Shiffrin’s manager Kilian Albrecht told The Associated Press as Shiffrin missed the race.

“I fell during free skiing on the race hill and I’m waiting for an MRI this afternoon to see what’s going on”, Shiffrin wrote on Facebook under a picture of her sitting on a bed with a brace on her right knee.

The 20-year-old won back-to-back slalom races in her home state last month.

The American specializes in the speed events of downhill and super-G and now has four giant slalom victories to her name – with two of them coming in Are.

The conditions reminded Vonn of Minnesota, where she grew up before moving to Vail, Colorado, as an adolescent.

“I feel really good on my skis and balanced”.

She was taken to a hospital in Ostersund, Albrecht said.

“I love racing here in Are under the lights”, Vonn said. We can’t afford to lose any more athletes so I really hope that they’re both OK.

The women’s tour this season is already missing the last two World Cup overall champions – Anna Fenninger (knee surgery) and Tina Maze (break).

In the overall World Cup standings, Shiffrin dropped to 104 points behind fellow American Lindsey Vonn, who won Saturday’s race.

Vlhova was only six hundredths ahead of Loeseth at the two split checks but she surged ahead on the final gates of the Olympia course. “So I just gave it everything I have and I tried to arc and I’m happy that I was fast”. She celebrated her first-run lead by raising her left pole and pumping her fist.

“I was watching some video from that win last night”, Vonn said between runs.

Low-ranked Petra Vlhova of Slovakia pulled off a surprise by leading the opening run of a World Cup slalom in Are, Sweden, on Sunday with the dominant Mikaela Shiffrin out injured.