Alpine Skiing
Hat-trick hero Henrik Kristoffersen is the slalom king for a 3rd time
The Norwegian seals his 3rd slalom overall title with a runner-up finish in Méribel and also confirms 3rd place in the overall FIS World Cup standings behind champion Marco Odermatt.
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Norwegian Henrik Kristoffersen brought down the curtain on the 2021-22 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup season by finishing second in Méribel to claim the slalom title for a third time and finish third behind Swiss star Marco Odermatt in the overall standings.
Kristoffersen came into the last men's race of the season leading compatriot Lucas Braathen by 48 points, with German Linus Strasser, Austrian Manuel Feller and Swiss Daniel Yule also in the hunt.
It was Braathen who claimed the initiative however after the first run, with the best time of 43.69s seeing him lead Kristoffersen by 0.05s.
Henrik Kristoffersen is now a 3-time slalom World Cup champion
© Erich Spiess/ASP/Red Bull Content Pool
Third from last, Norwegian Atle Lie McGrath produced a classy second run, which Kristoffersen fell short of by 0.37s as the next man down - after nearly skiing out with a few gates left. It was enough for Kristoffersen to seal the title however, as Braathen produced a messy second run as the last man down the mountain.
This was 27-year-old Kristoffersen's third slalom title after 2016 and 2020 to go alongside his 2020 giant slalom title, 2019 world championship giant slalom gold, 2021 world slalom bronze and two Olympic medals.
Kristoffersen's 451 slalom points was 90 ahead of Austrian Manuel Feller, with McGrath rising to third and Braathen down to fourth as Kristoffersen overtook Austrian Matthias Mayer in the overall standings to claim third place behind Odermatt and fellow Norwegian Aleksander Aamodt Kilde.
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