Mikaela Shiffrin became the most successful alpine skier in World Cup history with her win on Tuesday (January 24) in the 83rd race.
Two-time Olympic gold medalist from America started in giant slalom tied with compatriot Lindsey Vonn on the all-time list, but felt no pressure as she moved to the top of the first round leaderboard.
Beijing 2022 Olympic gold medalist in super-G Lara Gut-Behrami ensured it would be an intense finish with a near-flawless effort in the penultimate heat of the competition, but Shiffrin kept her cool to go faster again and take the win.
The Swiss Gut-Behrami took second place, being the hero of the hosts Federica Brignone took third place on the podium.
The current Olympic champion in slalom of Slovakia Petr Vlhova he finished in fourth place.
“There are too many emotions to feel and it’s hard to explain. I’m just trying to take a little breath and enjoy it and I’m looking forward to two runs tomorrow because it’s in really good shape,” Shiffrin said after her historic victory.
“The level is so high. You have to push yourself to the limit and if you make one mistake you fall off the podium and drop to fifth or tenth.
“You have to take risks and sometimes they will work and sometimes they won’t. Then it’s really exciting.”
Mikaela Shiffrin is approaching Ingemar Stenmark’s record
Shiffrin now only follows Sweden Ingemar Stenmark 1st place in the men’s and women’s World Cup overall. He won 86 professional titles.
The American will have the opportunity tomorrow (January 25) to win his 84th FIS World Cup crown in the second giant slalom event at Kronplatz.
Shiffrin is in first place in the women’s giant slalom ranking for the 2022/23 season with 500 points ahead of Marta Bassino who now has 451.
In the overall World Cup standings, Shiffrin still leads with 1,417 points, while Gut-Behrami is second with 861 points.
This season, Shiffrin is fighting for her fifth overall title, which would put her second on the all-time winning list behind the Austrian Annemarie Moser-Pröllwhich has six titles to its credit.
