The 32-year-old perennial World Championships medallist trailed by 0.20 seconds going into run two but managed to leapfrog Wendy Holdener of Switzerland with an overall time of 1min 38.63sec.

Holdener was just 0.05 seconds adrift of the victorious Swede, while Austria's Katharina Gallhuber secured a surprise bronze medal.

It proved to be a disappointing outing for pre-race favourite and defending champion Mikaela Shiffrin of the United States, who failed to reach the heights of her giant slalom triumph yesterday.

Shiffrin revealed she had been suffering from sickness and vomited before the start of the race, which she claimed contributed to her below-par performance.

Today's result ended a long run of near-misses for the Swede.

Hansdotter finished on the podium in the slalom at the past three World Championships, coming third in 2013 and 2017 and second in 2015.

She came into the event having won two silvers and two bronze on the World Cup circuit.

"I'm super happy with my career, it's just that Mikaela has been so fantastic," said the Swede. 

"I mean, how many second-places don't I have behind Mikaela? 

"She won yesterday and she's completely fantastic, but I felt after the first race that it gave me some hope. 

"She wasn't leading with those one or two seconds as she usually does, so then I felt that, 'Now, I'm really going to take that chance.'"

The race was initially scheduled to be held on Wednesday (February 14) before strong winds forced the postponement of the event.

It was a blessing in disguise for the athletes, who were greeted with near-perfect conditions on the start line.