It’s official, Mikaela Shiffrin is now the winning-most athlete in Alpine World Cup history. On Friday, March 10, Shiffrin took first place in the Women’s Giant Slalom at Åre, Sweden, to tie Ingemar Stenmark’s 86 win record. The athletes remained tied for just around a day when, on Saturday, March 11, Shiffrin took first place in Women’s Slalom, moving the record World Cup victories up to 87.
Shiffrin’s 87th victory comes exactly 12 years after her first career World Cup race, a Giant Slalom race in the Czech Republic on March 11, 2011. Back in 2012, she won her first World Cup race in the same discipline and location of her most recent win, Slalom in Åre.
The GREATEST of all time @MikaelaShiffrin 🐐#fisalpine pic.twitter.com/Jhx2Nnu8yT
— FIS Alpine (@fisalpine) March 11, 2023
Shiffrin lead the rest of the competition by nearly a full second, coming in with a total time of 1:41.77. Wendy Holdener of Switzerland took second place with a total time of 1:42.69, and Anna Swenn Larsson of Sweden took third with a total time of 1:42.72. Shiffrin came in .02 seconds behind Holdener on the run two, but the American’s .94 second lead from the first run kept her on top.
Mikaela now holds 53 career wins in slalom, the most of any World Cup athlete in a single discipline, let alone in just slalom. She’s also tied for the most women’s giant slalom wins, with 20, and holds five super-G victories and three downhill victories. Out of the 246 races Shiffrin has started, she’s podiumed in 136, giving her a podium rate of around 55.3% and a victory rate of around 35.4%.
The moment @MikaelaShiffrin realises to be the best ever 🥹#fisalpine pic.twitter.com/8BOQIjgsmk
— FIS Alpine (@fisalpine) March 11, 2023
According to the AP, Shiffrin’s brother and sister-in-law had secretly flown into Sweden to attend the race, making her win even more special and memorable.
“I’ve said it the whole time, I don’t know how to define that. But when you have these special moments … seeing my brother and (sister-in-law) Kristi and my mom (and coach, Eileen) in the finish today, that’s what makes it memorable.” – Mikaela Shiffrin
Huge congrats to Mikaela on breaking such a massive record. With 87 victories in the books and still many years of competition ahead of her, there’s no doubt in my mind that we’ll continue to see some incredible feats from the GOAT of ski racing.
Shiffrin is set to compete next from March 14-17 at the World Cup Finals in Soldeau, Andorra, where she’s set to compete in all four major disciplines. I don’t think anyone would be too surprised if she was able to add to her victories there.
