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Mikaela Shiffrin Ties Lindsey Vonn’s World Cup Skiing Wins Record

The 27-year-old American matched the women’s record and now sits just four victories away from the all-time mark.

Zach Koons

Mikaela Shiffrin Ties Lindsey Vonn’s World Cup Skiing Wins Record
Mikaela Shiffrin Ties Lindsey Vonn’s World Cup Skiing Wins Record /

Mikaela Shiffrin matched Lindsey Vonn’s mark for most career women’s World Cup skiing victories with her 82nd career win on Sunday.

Shiffrin clinched the record-tying mark with a victory in giant slalom in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia. Entering her second and final run with 0.24-second advantage, the 27-year-old blasted through the course with remarkable precision to beat out second-place finisher Federica Brignone of Italy by a comfortable 0.77 seconds. Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami rounded out the podium, 0.97 seconds behind the American.

When Shiffrin reached the finish line, she unleashed a celebratory scream to cap off her historic achievement. She later kissed her skis during the awards ceremony.

“I was so nervous this run. I have a rash on my face I was so nervous,” Shiffrin said to FIS TV after her final run. “I don’t know why, maybe a little bit was because of 82. I just really wanted to ski well. … I can’t believe it.

“It was a fight, but it was pretty amazing conditions and I got a report from the coaches that just said everything is fully attackable so you have to go for it. I’ve been in this position (before) and I’ve given it away, and today I wanted to go for it.”

Shiffrin’s career achievement comes almost a year after a difficult 2022 Beijing Olympics in which she failed to win a medal in any of her six events. The shocking disappointment cast a temporary cloud over the American’s historic career, one that she’s already dispelled just 11 months later.

In addition to tying Vonn, Shiffrin’s eighth victory of the season put her within shouting distance of Ingemar Stenmark’s overall record of 86 World Cup victories. Shiffrin will have a chance to move one step closer to the Swedish great and move ahead of Vonn’s mark Tuesday in a slalom race in Flachau, Austria.

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Zach Koons
ZACH KOONS

Zach Koons is a programming editor at Sports Illustrated who frequently writes about Formula One. He joined SI as a breaking/trending news writer in February 2022 before joining the programming team in 2023. Koons previously worked at The Spun and interned for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He currently hosts the "Bleav in Northwestern" podcast and received a bachelor's in journalism from Northwestern University.

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