ASPEN, Colo. (AP) Mikaela Shiffrin is leading by a wide margin after the first run once again as she tries to capture back-to-back World Cup slalom races in Aspen.
The 20-year-old American finished in 47.73 seconds Sunday, opening a massive 1.69-second advantage over Sarka Strachova of Czech Republic. Sweden's Frida Hansdotter is third and trails by 1.99. Those are the only two competitors within two seconds of the reigning Olympic and world slalom champion.
Shiffrin led after the first run of Saturday's slalom by 1.38 seconds and won by 3.07 seconds, the largest margin of victory in World Cup history for the women's discipline. It was a mark that had stood since 1968.
Shiffrin may very well top it a day later.
These days, she's simply on a different level. Shiffrin has won four straight World Cup slaloms dating to last season. It's the longest streak in slalom by a female skier since Marlies Schild of Austria captured five in a row in 2011-12.
''She's here at home. She likes the snow. She has the support from the public and, yeah, she's in another class,'' said Strachova, who's won slalom races on this course in 2008 and `09. ''It's just really difficult to catch her.''
But don't hand Shiffrin her fourth straight World Cup slalom title just yet.
''I think we will try to catch her, for sure,'' said Slovakia's Veronika Velez Zuzulova, who finished second Saturday but wiped out in her first run Sunday. ''It's just the beginning of the season. We'll see. We will find a way to catch her.''
This has turned into quite a weekend of racing for Shiffrin after a rough start. She crashed in the giant slalom Friday but bounced back for a victory. She said she used her anger and frustration as motivation in that race.
This is what propelled her in the first run Sunday: ''Yesterday was a dream.''
''This morning, I woke up and was like, `They're all playing a joke on me. I have to go even harder today because they're all joking with me, ''' said Shiffrin, who's from nearby Eagle-Vail. ''I tried to attack even more. I felt good yesterday. But I felt like I could even raise the bar more.''
