Mikaela Shiffrin tied the alpine skiing record for World Cup wins with a giant slalom victory Friday in Are, Sweden.
Her 86th career win ties the mark set by Swedish men’s skier Ingemar Stenmark, who retired from World Cup competition in 1989. The record-tying win came at the site of her first World Cup win, which she accomplished in December 2012 at age 17.
“I’ve had a quite a few different experiences here,” Shiffrin said after her first run Friday. “I have felt everything you can feel here so it’s special to be back.”
86 WINS FOR MIKAELA‼️@MikaelaShiffrin ties Ingemar Stenmark for the most World Cup victories by an alpine skier in HISTORY. 🥇(🎥 @usalpineskiteam)pic.twitter.com/HpRQJ7OLgz— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) March 10, 2023
86 WINS FOR MIKAELA‼️@MikaelaShiffrin ties Ingemar Stenmark for the most World Cup victories by an alpine skier in HISTORY. 🥇(🎥 @usalpineskiteam)pic.twitter.com/HpRQJ7OLgz
The 27-year-old will have an opportunity to break the record Saturday in the slalom – her best event.
“It was just a spectacular day,” said Shiffrin, who finished 0.64 seconds ahead of Federica Brignone.
Already this season the 27-year-old American had broken Lindsey Vonn’s record for women’s World Cup wins. Vonn retired in 2019 with 82 wins; Shiffrin surpassed her with a giant slalom win in January.
With Friday’s win, she also tied the women’s record for World Cup victories in giant slalom, matching Vreni Schneider with 20.
The race also marked win No. 12 of the season for Shiffrin. With seven races left on the schedule, she has a chance to improve upon her record 17 wins during the 2018-19 campaign.