Mikaela Shiffrin’s chase of the women’s World Cup record lives on after she finished seventh in a super-G race Sunday, 0.62 seconds behind the winner.
The 27-year-old tied fellow American Lindsey Vonn’s mark of 82 wins on Jan. 8 with a grand slalom victory in Slovenia. But she missed the podium in three straight events in Cortina, Italy, so her quest continues.
While Shiffrin missed her chance to break the record this weekend, the upcoming World Cup schedule still offers opportunities.
Two in the top 10!@MikaelaShiffrin and @PaulaMoltzan snag 2nd and 5th in Flachau🙌#stifelusalpineteam // @Stifel pic.twitter.com/OqiducccFq
— U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team (@usskiteam) January 10, 2023
Her next chances to break the tie with Vonn will come in two giant slaloms at the Kronplatz resort in San Vigilio di Marebbe, Italy, on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Should Shiffrin not break the tie in those races, then giant slalom and slalom races await her in Spindleruv Mlyn, Czech Republic, on Jan. 28 and 29. Should Shiffrin still sit one win short after these races, she would have to wait until February to try again.
When she does claim the women’s record, Shiffrin next will turn to Ingemar Stenmark’s overall record of 86. No alpine skier other than Shiffrin, Vonn and Stenmark has recorded even 70 wins.
Shiffrin tied the women’s record in just 233 races across 13 seasons. Vonn, who struggled with injuries in the latter half of the career and retired in 2019, reached the 82-win mark in 395 races.
“[Mikaela] is the best skier that has ever lived in my eyes,” Vonn told a German newspaper earlier this year.
Her versatility in particular stands out. Shiffrin is the only athlete to win a race in each of the six World Cup skiing disciplines (downhill, super-G, slalom, giant slalom, combined and parallel). She excels in the slalom, with 51 wins, the most of any skier in one discipline.
Mikaela Shiffrin has matched Lindsey Vonn’s women’s World Cup skiing record, recording win No. 82 on Sunday in the giant slalom.
Shiffrin can now break the mark on Tuesday in Austria.
It all began in Arë, Sweden in 2012. A decade ago, @mikaelashiffrin won her first World Cup at 17. 10 years later, she’s still winning. With 82 victories, she officially tied @lindseyvonn’s record for most alpine World Cup victories by a woman. SPEECHLESS. #stifelusalpineteam pic.twitter.com/gyH9H1jjfL
— U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team (@usskiteam) January 8, 2023
“I was so nervous this run. I have a rash on my face I was so nervous,” Shiffrin said. “I don’t know why, maybe a little bit was because of 82. I just really wanted to ski well, and I did.”
Vonn struggled with injuries in the latter half of the career, and it took her 395 races to achieve the feat. Shiffrin, meanwhile, has met the record in just 233 races.
“It was a fight. But it was pretty amazing conditions and I got a report from the coaches and they were like, ‘It’s really attackable, so just go for it,'” she continued. “I’ve been in this position before and I’ve given it away and today I wanted to fight for it.”
It was also her 17th win in the giant slalom, putting her second on the women’s career list behind Vreni Schneider, a Swiss skier who won 20 races in the event.
The win was her eighth of the season, and brings her closer to male skier Ingemar Stenmark’s overall record of 86 victories.
8️⃣2️⃣‼️
— U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team (@usskiteam) January 8, 2023
WE’RE NOT CRYING…actually yes, yes we are crying. 😭😭😭🥳🥳🥳#StifelUSAlpineTeam pic.twitter.com/3T6GCITCxa
Mikaela Shiffrin is just one away from tying Lindsey Vonn’s record for World Cup wins after she claimed victory in the first World Cup race of 2023.
With her first-place finish in Wednesday’s slalom in Zagreb, Croatia, the 27-year-old American skier notched her fifth straight win and the 81st of her career.
“I skied better than I probably ever have,” she said.
Fellow American Vonn set the women’s record with 82 World Cup wins before her retirement in 2019. Shiffrin also is chasing the overall record of 86 wins, set by Sweden’s Ingemar Stenmark before his retirement in 1989. No other alpine skier has recorded even 70 wins.
81!!!!! @mikaelashiffrin just won the Snow Queen Trophy AND scored her 81ST @fisalpine World Cup win in Zagreb!! WOW!!! 🎉🥳🍾 #stifelusalpineteam pic.twitter.com/Zqe4VDMKvY
— U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team (@usskiteam) January 4, 2023
Shiffrin’s streak includes wins in three different events: two each in giant slalom and slalom and one in super-G. Just two women have won more races in a row, per the Guardian: Switzerland’s Vreni Schneider, who won eight in 1988-89, and Germany’s Katja Seizinger, who won six in 1997.
While another slalom race scheduled for Thursday in Zagreb was canceled due to weather conditions, she could continue her run and grab Vonn’s record in two giant slalom races this Saturday and Sunday in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia.
Saturday’s first run is set to begin at 3:30 a.m. ET, and the second run is set for 6:30 a.m. ET. Sunday’s runs will start at the same times. All the runs will be streamed on skiandsnowboard.live.
As Shiffrin bears down on the record, Vonn is cheering her effort.
“[Mikaela] is the best skier that has ever lived in my eyes,” Vonn told a German newspaper. “She will break my record of World Cup wins very quickly and will become the greatest skier in history.”
As Mikaela Shiffrin nears Lindsey Vonn’s record of World Cup wins, the reigning record holder isn’t staying quiet about Shiffrin’s abilities.
“[Mikaela] is the best skier that has ever lived in my eyes,” Vonn told a German newspaper last week. “She will break my record of World Cup wins very quickly and will become the greatest skier in history.”
Shiffrin is closing in on Vonn’s record, having recorded win No. 77 a little over a week ago and win No. 78 on Tuesday. She now sits just four wins shy of tying the record and five wins away from breaking it. Vonn set the record in 2018, with 82 total victories.
Shiffrin took win No. 78 in the giant slalom, her first win in the event since December of last year.
“Very special,” Shiffrin said when asked about finally getting a win in the event. “GS is one of the hardest events for me, but also, when I’m skiing well, then it’s just amazing.”
Vonn later took to Twitter to applaud Shiffrin for the win.
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 https://t.co/WefCkmcRbn
— lindsey vonn (@lindseyvonn) December 27, 2022
Already, Shiffrin has four World Cup wins on the season. There are two more days of racing in this series, which is taking place in Austria. The last time Semmering hosted races on three consecutive days, Shiffrin won all three events.
“The start of [an event] with three races is always a bit nerve-wracking. You hope that you are on the right shape, that you can bring intensity to the start,” Shiffrin said. “From the first turn, I felt very good, I was very strong and dynamic, so I am super happy with my skiing.”
Vonn, who is an Olympic gold medalist and a four-time World Cup overall champion, said that she feels as though Shiffrin is “almost perfect” in slalom.
“She is an amazing athlete and has an almost perfect slalom technique,” she said. “She trains in a special way with a lot of repetitions.”
Mikaela Shiffrin won the super-G on Sunday, bringing her closer to the women’s World Cup record set by former teammate and fellow American Lindsey Vonn.
The win brought her career total to 77 race wins. Vonn set the record in 2018, with 82 total victories.
Shiffrin began the weekend by finishing sixth and fourth in two downhills before winning the super-G. She finished 0.12 seconds ahead of Elena Curtoni, who won the downhill on Friday.
.@MikaelaShiffrin places first on her first super-G of the season🤯
— U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team (@usskiteam) December 18, 2022
World class skiing👑#StifelUSAlpineTeam pic.twitter.com/PrrpdoXhFS
“I feel really quite happy for this whole weekend and maybe try to take some of that with the slalom and GS as well,” said Shiffrin. “I felt very good the last days, but you never know, with super-G especially, you have to push so hard. It’s always on the limit. Actually, you’re pushing so hard, maybe you’re not going to finish.
“I knew what my tactics should be, I was not thinking about what’s going to happen in the finish until I got there. I had a very, very good run, so I’m happy with that.”
She hadn’t raced in a speed event since the World Cup finals in March. But the next eight events on the calendar are all technical events. They’ll then return to speed races in mid-January.
“I think that can help me with my giant slalom, and maybe even a bit with the slalom, to know if I can do it in downhill and super-G and downhill, I can do it in GS and slalom,” said Shiffrin.
In the overall season standings, Shiffrin takes a 105 point lead over Sofia Goggia, who broke two bones in her left hand. She underwent surgery on Friday and returned the following day to race.