Shiffrin triumphs
Aicher curses after mistakes – World Cup miracle doesn’t happen
Updated March 25, 2026 – 1:38 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
It would have taken a miracle to still win the overall World Cup. After a brief glimmer of hope, Emma Aicher had to admit defeat.
The German ski racer Emma Aicher missed out on triumph in the overall World Cup. The 22-year-old fell from third place to twelfth place after a serious mistake in the second run of the final giant slalom and was therefore no longer able to catch up with the leader Mikaela Shiffrin.
The American finished eleventh in Canadian Valerie Grenier’s victory in Hafjell, Norway, securing the big crystal ball for the best athlete of a season for the sixth time. Aicher left the finish visibly frustrated after her mistake.
“It’s very emotional. Those were my first tears since the Olympics. I’m so grateful to be in this position and I’m also grateful for the duel with Emma. What she did in the first round was spectacular and shows that she can do it,” said Shiffrin.
Aicher went into the last race of the winter 85 points behind Shiffrin. In order to move past the overall standings, she would have had to win and Shiffrin shouldn’t have scored. The young German’s chances were minimal – but she seemed determined to take advantage of them.
With a fantastic run, Aicher, who had never made it onto the podium in a giant slalom before, moved up to third place in the first round. Before the final, Shiffrin was only in 17th place – and therefore outside the points.
With her sixth overall World Cup victory, Shiffrin drew level with record holder Annemarie Moser-Pröll, the Austrian dominator of the 1970s. For Aicher, the great German hope for the future, it was also the most successful season of her career. Among other things, she won two Olympic silver medals and three World Cup races this winter.
