American skier Mikaela Shiffrin won the women's giant slalom in Kronplatz (Italy), on Tuesday and Wednesday, during the Alpine Ski World Cup. With this triumph, she becomes the skier with the highest number of world championship victories (84), surpassing her compatriot Lindsey Vonn.
Wow. Wow. Wow. THIS is how @mikaelashiffrin became the winningest woman alpine skier in history. 🥇🤯
Congratulations to the best woman to ever do it!! 👑#stifelusalpineteam // @Stifel pic.twitter.com/T7rAxHIzdp
— U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team (@usskiteam) January 24, 2023
The Italian Alps bared witnessed Shiffrin acheiving this new milestone. Now, at the age of just 27, she will have the opportunity to catch up with Swedish skier Ingemar Stenmark, who has held the overall record with 86 wins since 1989.
On the first descent, the American skier set the fastest time and beat her nearest rival, Swiss athlete Lara Gut-Behrami, by 13 seconds.
Under pressure from Gut-Behrami in the second run, Shiffrin took a risk and, with a more aggressive style, went back ahead of the Swiss skier. The American athlete explained what she felt at the end of her race:
There is no single word to explain this. During the day you feel nervous, uneasy, tense, tired... Too much tension to explain. I tried to do my best, to keep my nerves and tension, and I am very happy. But tomorrow is another day. The current level of skiing is very high, and it is an honor to be there, in the fight for the win, always at the limit. One mistake knocks you off the podium. You have to try to take risks and do it well.
"For Mikaela, the sky's the limit."
On January 8, she equaled Vonn's 82 victories at the Kranjska Gora ski resort in Slovenia. Vonn herself was the first to congratulate her compatriot on her incredible achievement:
I knew from the very beginning that she would be the one to break all the records. But to do it at such a young age is really impressive. Catching Ingemar Stenmark's men's mark of 86 wins was always the ultimate goal for me, but with the injuries I sustained it just wasn't possible. For Mikaela, the sky's the limit. I don't think that Stenmark is necessarily the benchmark. She's going to set the new standard, and we'll have to wait and see how high she can go.
Only female skier to win in all disciplines
Shiffrin is on track to become the best female skier in history. To her credit, she already is the only one to win in the six disciplines that make up the Alpine Skiing World Cup: Slalom, Downhill, Giant Slalom, Supergiant, Combined and Parallel.
She already has two Olympic gold and one silver medal and four Crystal Globes (overall winner of the World Cup).
