World champ Meillard wins World Cup slalom to close in on discipline leader Kristoffersen

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Switzerland’s Loic Meillard celebrates on the podium after winning an alpine ski, men’s World Cup slalom, in Hafjell, Norway, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

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Switzerland’s Loic Meillard celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, men’s World Cup slalom, in Hafjell, Norway, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

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Switzerland’s Loic Meillard, right, winner of an alpine ski, men’s World Cup slalom, and third-placed Brazil’s Lucas Pinheiro Braathen congratulate each other at the finish area, in Hafjell, Norway, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

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Brazil’s Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, right, and Norway’s Atle Lie McGrath look at Switzerland’s Loic Meillard descending during an alpine ski, men’s World Cup slalom, in Hafjell, Norway, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

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Switzerland’s Loic Meillard, center, winner of an alpine ski, men’s World Cup slalom, celebrates with second-placed Norway’s Atle Lie McGrath, left, and third-placed Brazil’s Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, in Hafjell, Norway, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

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Switzerland’s Loic Meillard competes on his way to win an alpine ski, men’s World Cup slalom, in Hafjell, Norway, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Zenoni)

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Switzerland’s Loic Meillard competes in an alpine ski, men’s World Cup slalom, in Hafjell, Norway, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

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Brazil’s Lucas Pinheiro Braathen competes in an alpine ski, men’s World Cup slalom, in Hafjell, Norway, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

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Norway’s Henrik Kristoffersen competes in an alpine ski, men’s World Cup slalom, in Hafjell, Norway, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

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France’s Clement Noel competes in an alpine ski, men’s World Cup slalom, in Hafjell, Norway, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

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Austria’s Manuel Feller competes in an alpine ski, men’s World Cup slalom, in Hafjell, Norway, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

HAFJELL, Norway (AP) — World champion Loic Meillard won the season’s penultimate men’s World Cup slalom Sunday as the Swiss skier boosted his chances of taking the discipline title.

Meillard overcame a big mistake early in his final run and held on to his first-leg lead as he beat Atle Lie McGrath of Norway by 0.21 seconds. Lucas Pinheiro Braathen was 0.47 back in third.

“It was a wild second run with a few mistakes. I just wanted to fully attack, maybe even too much,” said Meillard, who also won Saturday’s giant slalom on the same hill. “It’s a dream for a tech skier to win both days, GS and slalom, and for it to happen this weekend is pretty amazing.”

Meillard’s sole previous career World Cup victory in slalom came in Aspen, Colorado a year ago, though he took gold at the worlds in Austria in February.

Henrik Kristoffersen, who leads the discpline standings, won both the GS and the slalom at the previous tech weekend in Slovenia two weeks ago.

On Sunday, the Norwegian placed fifth and saw his advantage over Meillard reduced to 47 points with only the season-ending race remaining at the World Cup finals in Sun Valley, Idaho on March 27.

Not PARSE.LY: Alpine skiing

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt reacts at the finish area of an alpine ski, men's World Cup Giant Slalom, in Hafjell, Norway, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Swiss ski star Odermatt secures overall and GS World Cup titles in race won by teammate Meillard

The winner Germany's Emma Aicher celebrates after an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G race, in La Thuile, Italy, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

Brignone closes gap on super-G leader Gut-Behrami in race won by Germany’s Aicher

The winner Italy's Dominik Paris celebrates after an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Kvitfjell, Norway, Saturday, March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

Italian ski star Dominik Paris shines in tight World Cup super-G for second win in three days

Kristoffersen will secure the title if he finishes third or better in that race, regardless of Meillard’s result.

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“It’s still a big gap,” Meillard said. “So, he has to fail it a little bit and I have to do something very special like today. So, it’s really a nice fight until the end.”

The only other racer left with a chance to win the season title is Clement Noel. The Olympic champion from France finished seventh and trails Kristoffersen by 86 points. A race win is worth 100 points.

Kristoffersen has won the slalom title three times in his career, most recently in 2022, but it would be the first career slalom globe for either Meillard or Noel.

Last year’s slalom champion, Manuel Feller, skied out in the first run, but the Austrian was already out of contention for the season title before the race.

Racing on a hill where he skied many times in his youth, Pinheiro Braathen earned his fifth podium result since taking a year off and returning to the circuit this season following a switch from the Norwegian to the Brazilian federation.

“I had so many training runs here, so many of my fundamentals come from here, Hafjell,” said Pinheiro Braathen, who is chasing Brazil’s first-ever triumph in a top-level ski race.

Hafjell hosted World Cup races for the first time since 2003.

Swiss star Marco Odermatt, who locked up the overall and giant slalom titles on Saturday, does not compete in slaloms.

The race wrapped up the regular World Cup season ahead of the finals for both men and women in Sun Valley, which open with the speed events next weekend.

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AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing

Olympic Hightlights

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FILE - South Africa’s Jacques Freitag competes in the men’s high jump of the 2004 Olympic Games, in the Olympic Stadium in Athens, Friday Aug. 20, 2004. Local media is reporting that South African police have discovered the body of former high jump world champion Jacques Freitag after he went missing last month. The reports said the 42-year-old, who won the 2003 world title in Paris and competed at the 2004 Olympics, had been shot. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)

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