Alpine skiing: Mikaela Shiffrin equals Lindsey Vonn’s record with 82nd win

And in the end, Shiffrin wins. This Sunday, the American skier made alpine skiing history by equaling her compatriot Lindsey Vonn’s record of 82 World Cup victories. For this, the 27-year-old two-time Olympic champion dominated the giant from Kranjska Gora (Slovenia) with her head and shoulders. Leading after the first run with 24 hundredths, 24 hundredths ahead of Italy’s Federica Brignone, Mikaela Shiffrin increased her lead in the second run, finishing 77 hundredths ahead of Brignone and 97 hundredths ahead of Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami, who completes the podium.

“I was so nervous, probably because of that record of 82 wins. I can’t believe it,” the American reacted on the verge of tears at the end of the race. She failed to reach that record on Saturday, finishing 6th at the same track. “The conditions were incredible. I was able to attack from start to finish. I wanted to fight for it,” added the six-time world champion.

Ahead of 86 victories Stenmark

Breaking the record of 82 wins at just 27 years old is a resounding feat in the history of skiing, especially when you look at the story of Mikaela Shiffrin. At 15 years and 364 days, she made her first World Cup start the day before her 16th birthday. The youngest Olympic slalom champion in history at the age of 19, the American was seriously injured in the winter of 2016 and was out for part of the 2019-2020 season following the death of her father.

If Shiffrin arrives this Sunday with 82 wins, it is primarily due to his versatility in all disciplines of alpine skiing. A slalom specialist with 52 wins (an all-time record for both men and women), the 27-year-old skier also knows how to win giants and even downhill. After over 230 World Cup starts, she has an insane win rate of over 34%. Mikaela Shiffrin has only one record left: 86 victories by Swede Ingemar Stenmark.