Mikaela Shiffrin Breaks All-Time World Cup Wins Record
The 27-year-old American surpassed Swedish star Ingemar Stenmark with her 87th career victory on Saturday.
At long last, Mikaela Shiffrin stands alone as the winningest skier in World Cup history.
Shiffrin broke Ingemar Stenmark’s long-standing record on Saturday with her 87th career victory in a World Cup race. Fittingly, the record-breaking run came in a slalom race—the 27-year-old American’s specialty—in an event in Åre, Sweden where she won her first ever World Cup race in 2012.
On Saturday, Shiffrin leapt out 0.69-second lead after her first run and managed to cruise to the win from there. She ended her second and final run in a time of 1:41.77, almost a full second clear of the next competitor.
After she reached the bottom of the mountain, Shiffrin was overcome with emotion as she sat down and basked in the historic moment.
Shiffrin made history one day after she tied Stenmark’s all-time mark with a win in a giant slalom race on Friday. The victory was her first on the World Cup circuit since January, when she pulled within one win of the Swedish great.
After Friday’s victory, Shiffrin had a direct message for Stenmark, calling it her “biggest dream” to be mentioned in the same conversation with the 86-time World Cup event-winner.
“No matter what I do, it doesn’t ever compare to what you achieved,” Shiffrin said, per the Associated Press. “Maybe I get the 87th victory, maybe not. But for me the biggest dream is to be mentioned in the same sentence as you.”
After notching that 87th win in her 246th World Cup race on Saturday, Shiffrin will stand in a league of her own moving forward with plenty of time to add to her already historic career.