Mikaela Shiffrin wins slalom gold at world championships

She’s still a teenager, but that hasn’t stopped American skier Mikaela Shiffrin from continuing to dominate on the slopes.

Shiffrin, 19, successfully defended her slalom title Saturday in Beaver Creek, Colo., finishing her two runs in a combined time of 1 minute, 28.48 seconds to defeat Sweden’s Frida Hansdotter by just over three-tenths of a second. Sarka Stachova of the Czech Republic was third.

Shiffrin established herself as one of the bona fide stars of the skiing world following her gold-medal victory in slalom at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. The performance came a year after she captured victory in slalom at the 2013 world championships.

Shiffrin, who grew up in nearby Eagle-Vail, Colo., led the first after the first run. She got off to a slow start on her second run, but made up time near the bottom of the hill on softer snow.

Shiffrin, who’s competing in her fourth World Cup season, has 12 career wins and 21 podiums in the slalom and giant slalom. She finished eighth in the giant slalom on Thursday.

Shiffrin is the second American to win gold at this year’s world championships. Decorated Olympic champion Ted Ligety won in giant slalom Friday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.