Slovakian Petra Vlhova wins skiing’s World Cup overall title

LENZERHEIDE, Switzerland (AP) — Petra Vlhova won the women’s World Cup overall title on Saturday as the first Slovakian to be crowned the best all-around skier.

Needing only a top-14 finish in her specialist slalom event, Vlhova placed sixth in a race Katharina Liensberger won by 1.24 seconds.

That earned Liensberger the season-long discipline title, edging Mikaela Shiffrin who also placed second in Saturday’s race.

The result gave the 25-year-old Vlhova an unbeatable lead of more than 100 points in the standings over Lara Gut-Behrami. The Swiss racer, who won the overall title in 2016, skips slalom but will compete against Vlhova in the season-ending giant slalom on Sunday.

A first giant crystal globe trophy for Vlhova offset letting her lead slip in the slalom standings. She dropped to third in the season-long slalom standings that she won last year.

Liensberger added the discipline title to the gold medal in slalom she won at the world championships last month.

Vlhova is a rarity in the increasingly specialized world of skiing by competing in all events. Saturday’s start was her 30th on the World Cup circuit this season, and she won six.

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