STA, 14 November 2021 - Andreja Slokar won the parallel giant slalom event in Lech/Zürs in Austria on Saturday as part of the Alpine Ski World Cup to take the overall lead in the competition. This is the fist career win for Slokar and also the first win ever for Slovenia in parallel giant slalom.
The 24-year-old from Ajdovščina beat Thea Louise Stjernesund on Norway in the finals by 0.05 seconds, while Norway's Kristin Lysdahl beat Marta Bassino of Italy in the third-place race.
Slokar now stands on top of the women's Alpine Ski World Cup standings as the winner of the first event of the season in Sölden, Mikaela Shiffrin of the US, was absent, as was Petra Vlhova, the winner of last year's parallel giant slalom race.
The Slovenian secured her best career result ever in what was her 19th appearance in the World Cup, after she finished fifth in the slalom race at the world championship in February.
The previous best for Slokar, who became the eleventh Slovenian woman skier in history with a World Cup win, was the 6th place in the finale of the last season in Lenzerheide in the team slalom race.
"The race was fun. It is a little bit specific, as there is only one such event in the season and you never know what will happen. But you could tell that I enjoyed it very much. It's great for the first win," she said after the win.
Slovenian team head coach Sergej Poljšak was excited with the win. "It's a great day for Andreja. It was very tight in the quarter-finals, after which she skied better in each run and was deservedly victorious."
