US skier Mikaela Shiffrin wins 1st World Cup slalom of season for her 98th career victory

LEVI, Finland (AP) — American ski star Mikaela Shiffrin earned her record-extending 98th career World Cup win Saturday to give herself the chance to compete for victory No. 100 in front of a home crowd.

Regardless of her result in a slalom in Austria next week, Shiffrin could reach the milestone in two races in Killington, Vermont on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, respectively.

The two-time Olympic champion, who is from Colorado, can almost consider Killington a hometown race because she honed her skills nearby at the Burke Mountain Academy as a teenager.

On Saturday, Shiffrin dominated the first women’s World Cup slalom of the season for her 98th win. No other skier, male of female, has won more than 86 races.

“Amazing way to start the slalom season, I’m super happy,” the American said.

Shiffrin built on a big first-run lead with an aggressive yet controlled second run down the Levi Black course to beat 2021 slalom world champion Katharina Liensberger of Austria by 0.79 seconds.

Lena Duerr of Germany dropped from second to third, 0.83 behind Shiffrin, and was the last skier to finish less than a second off the lead.

Croatian prodigy Zrinka Ljutic who was third after the opening run, lost three spots.

Olympic champion Petra Vlhova, Shiffrin’s biggest rival in slalom, sat out the race as the Slovakian needed more to time to recover from knee surgery last season.

Shiffrin also led the season-opening giant slalom in Austria three weeks ago, but squandered that advantage in the second run to finish fifth.

On Saturday, Shiffrin initially extended her lead to a massive 1.25 seconds early in her final run before losing a few tenths.

“I was getting twisted sometimes, but then keep fighting. Not the perfect tempo, but enough really good turns that it works really well. In the end, a really solid run in conditions not so easy,” she said.

“From this weekend, I am racing every single weekend until world championships (in February), for sure. So it’s going be a really big push now, and I was a little bit off on my mentality in Soelden, so hopefully I can bring the GS under control. But it was very important to start with a good place in slalom.”

Shiffrin has triumphed in the last five slaloms she competed in. She won both races at the end of last season after her return from a knee injury following a downhill crash in January, clinching her eighth World Cup season title in the discipline.

Shiffrin has triumphed a record eight times in the traditional season-opening slalom in Finnish Lapland, where the winner is given a reindeer as a prize.

No skier other than Shiffrin or Vlhova has won the race since then overall champion Tina Maze triumphed in 2014.

Asked about a name for her reindeer, Shiffrin said she would “check with the team and my teammates and see what everybody says.”

Shiffrin positioned herself for victory with a convincing opening run, in which she posted the fastest split times in three of the four sections.

"I felt strong and solid and good energy. Little bit nervous, like first race, first slalom of the season, so I’m happy with how I managed the mentality and pushed with my skiing,” she said.

Shiffrin’s teammate Paula Moltzan went from fifth to eighth position.

In the opening run, Moltzan was 0.05 seconds faster than Shiffrin on the flat opening section of the course but lost time going into the steep part and ultimately trailed by 0.90. In the second run, Moltzan posted the 17th-fastest time and ended 1.51 behind Shiffrin.

American teammates Katie Hensien and Nina O'Brien, who both scored personal bests in the first race of the season, failed to finish their first run on Saturday.

Standout Lindsey Vonn, who this week announced her return to the U.S. ski team more than five years after her retirement, was expected to race again at speed events later this season.

A men's slalom on the same hill is scheduled for Sunday. The women's World Cup continues with another slalom in Gurgl, Austria next Saturday.

The winner United States' Mikaela Shiffrin celebrates on podium with Santa, after an alpine ski, women's World Cup slalom, in Levi, Finland, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

The winner United States' Mikaela Shiffrin makes friends with a baby reindeer as she waits for Santa on podium after an alpine ski, women's World Cup slalom, in Levi, Finland, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

From left, second placed Austria's Katharina Liensberger, the winner United States' Mikaela Shiffrin and third placed Germany's Lena Duerr celebrate after an alpine ski, women's World Cup slalom, in Levi, Finland, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

Austria's Katharina Liensberger speeds down the course during an alpine ski, women's World Cup slalom, in Levi, Finland, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

Croatia's Zrinka Ljutic speeds down the course during an alpine ski, women's World Cup slalom, in Levi, Finland, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

Germany's Lena Duerr speeds down the course during an alpine ski, women's World Cup slalom, in Levi, Finland, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

United States' Mikaela Shiffrin speeds down the course during an alpine ski, women's World Cup slalom, in Levi, Finland, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

United States' Mikaela Shiffrin speeds down the course during an alpine ski, women's World Cup slalom, in Levi, Finland, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

BEIRUT (AP) — Israeli ground forces reached their deepest point in Lebanon since they invaded six weeks ago before pulling back Saturday after battles with Hezbollah militants, Lebanese state media reported.

The clashes and further Israeli bombardment of Beirut's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold, came as Lebanese and Hezbollah officials study a draft proposal presented by the U.S. earlier this week on ending the war.

Israeli troops captured a strategic hill in the southern Lebanese village of Chamaa, about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the Israeli border, the state-run National News Agency reported. It said the troops were later pushed back.

The agency added that Israeli troops blew up the Shrine of Shimon the Prophet in Chamaa as well as several homes before they withdrew, but the claim could not be immediately verified.

Israel's military did not immediately respond to requests for comment but said in a statement that its troops “continue their limited, localized and targeted operational activity in southern Lebanon.”

Israeli warplanes pounded Beirut’s southern suburbs known as Dahiyeh as well as several other areas in southern Lebanon including the port city of Tyre. Israel's military said its planes hit multiple sites used by the militant group. Residents were given advance warning by Israel. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Since late September, Israel has dramatically escalated its bombardment of Lebanon, vowing to cripple the Iranian-backed Hezbollah and end its barrages in Israel that the militants have said are in solidarity with Palestinians during the war in Gaza. Israel said Hezbollah fired more than 60 projectiles into Israel on Saturday but gave no details.

More than 3,400 people have been killed in Lebanon by Israeli fire — 80% of them in the past eight weeks — according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. Israel has said it wants to ensure that thousands of Israelis can return to their homes near the border with Lebanon.

On Friday, Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister apparently urged Iran to try and convince Hezbollah to agree to a cease-fire deal with Israel, which would require the group to pull back from the Israel-Lebanon border. The proposal is based on U.N. Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the last Israel-Hezbollah war in 2006.

A copy of the draft proposal presented by the U.S. was handed over this week to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who has been negotiating on behalf of Hezbollah, according to a Lebanese official. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about the secret talks, said Berri is expected to give Lebanon’s response on Monday.

Another Lebanese politician said Hezbollah officials had received the draft and would express their opinion to Berri. The politician also spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media about the ongoing talks.

Berri told the pan-Arab Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that the draft does not include any item that allows Israel to act in Lebanon if the deal is violated.

“We will not accept any infringement of our sovereignty,” Berri was quoted as saying.

He added that one item in the draft that Lebanon does not accept is the proposal to form a committee to supervise the agreement that includes members from Western countries. A U.N. peacekeeping force already operates near the border in Lebanon.

Berri said talks are ongoing regarding that and other details, adding that “the atmosphere is positive but all relies on how things will end.”

There is also a push to end the war between Israel and Hamas, which began after Palestinian militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducting 250 others.

The Health Ministry in Gaza said Saturday that 35 people had been killed in Israeli strikes in the past 24 hours, bringing the war's overall death toll to 43,799. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but has said more than half of those killed have been women and children.

The U.N. Security Council’s 10 elected members on Thursday circulated a draft resolution demanding “an immediate, unconditional and permanent cease-fire” in Gaza.

The U.S., Israel’s closest ally, holds the key to whether the council adopts the resolution. The four other permanent members — Russia, China, Britain and France — are expected to support it or abstain.

Associated Press writer David Rising in Bangkok contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike on Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike on Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike on Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike on Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike on Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

An Israeli drone flies over Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike on Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike on Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike on Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike on Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

A bomb, center, dropped from an Israeli airplane falls towards a building in Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike on Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)