SAN VIGILIO DI MAREBE, Italy (AP) – Exhausted. relief. satisfaction.
American skier Mikaela Shiffrin Felt all that and more after winning a record 83rd World Cup race on Tuesday.
Shiffrin’s giant slalom win broke a tie with former American teammate on the all-time women’s list lindsey vonnwho retired four years ago when injuries cut short her career.
“I don’t think there are words to explain all the feelings,” Shiffrin said. “At the end of it, it’s like there’s just too much euphoria to feel. I don’t know if it makes sense. So it’s something you can’t explain. So I just try to take a breath and enjoy it.” I try to take
Shiffrin now needs only three more wins to equal Ingmar Stenmark’s overall record of 86 wins between men and women. Steinmark competed in the 1970s and 80s.
Shiffrin led from start to finish at the Kronstadt resort in the Italian Dolomites, 0.45 seconds ahead of reigning world champion Lara Gut-Behrami and 1.43 ahead of home favorite and former overall champion Federica Brignone.
Shiffrin posted the fastest first run and therefore was the last skier to run in the second run.
Shiffrin said, “I was a little nervous for the second run, but mostly, I hated waiting.” turn. It was amazing to come through to the finish and see that I was fast enough. Because I could hear that the other athletes were skiing well. I thought, ‘I might lose it, so I better try to ski a really good run.’ and it was.”
Shiffrin was tired and relieved soon after he finished, bending over and biting his lip before resting his head on his baton and then embracing Gut-Bahrami and Brigon.
Brigon said to Shiffrin, “Congratulations,” and Shiffrin replied, “Oh my God.”
On the contrary when she broke down in tears equaled Vaughan’s record of 82 wins Earlier this month in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Shifrin kept his composure while playing their national anthem, singing along to the words.
Then a gold colored crown was placed on his head.
It was Shiffrin’s ninth win of the season.
What’s more, Shiffrin is only 27 and could have many more years of elite racing left in her career. Vonn was 33 when she won her last World Cup event and Stenmark was 32.
Nina O’Brien, the lone American finisher in 18th place, said, “I feel so fortunate to be her teammate in this era and watch her break history every day.” “And she’s been really supportive, too.”
American skier Paula Moltzen was in fifth place after the first run, but fell midway through her second run, losing her balance and turning before sliding down the mountain.
The record also comes almost a year later Shifrin did not win a medal After entering six events at the Beijing Olympics amid high expectations. It didn’t take long for her to bounce back from her Beijing performance, claiming her fourth overall World Cup title at the end of last season.
She is now the most successful female skier of all time.
“It’s a really good image for the sport to have female alpine skiers,” said Tessa Worley, two-time world champion in GS. “And she’s still doing amazing things. So that’s motivation for us to keep going and keep going.”
Shiffrin had to learn how to handle the nerves that come with leading the first run.
“It’s still hard for me to believe that, apparently, I have the mental focus to be strong again in the second half,” she said. “It’s something I don’t take.”
Shiffrin started his second run soon after Gut-Behrami took the lead by a wide margin.
“I watched him from the start and then I was thinking, ‘Why did I watch? I can’t go that fast.’ So, I was a little bit wild in some places but it felt so clean,” Shiffrin said. “I thought I wouldn’t be fast, but I thought I might be close. And then, somehow, I got there and it was good enough.
Shiffrin can quickly add to her record in another giant slalom at Kronenplatz on Wednesday. Then she has two slaloms – her best event, accounting for 51 of her 83 wins – next weekend in Spindleruv Milan, Czech Republic. It was here that Shiffrin made her World Cup debut in March 2011 at the age of 15.
If she wins her next three races, she can match Stenmark by Sunday.
After a short break, Shiffrin will again be a multiple-medal threat at the world championships in Courchevel and Meribel, France, which begin on February 6.
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