At the same venue where she won her first World Cup race, Mikaela Shiffrin achieved her 86th victory and equaled Ingemar Stenmark's record for World Cup victories. She won her first World Cup race in Åre on December 2012 when she was only 17-year-old. Today she achieved her 86th World Cup win in 245 starts.
The 27-year-old American won the Giant Slalom in Åre. Shiffrin has won six of the last seven Women's World Cup Giant Slalom events including the last four in Kranjska Gora, Kronplatz, and Åre. The last woman to win four succesive Giant Slalom was Anna Veith from December 2013 to October 2014 (5).
Today's win secures her the Giant Slalom Crystal Globe for a second time after winning it 2019.
Shiffrin has won 20 World Cup Giant Slalom races. In Åre, she has equaled Vreni Schneider record of World Cup victories in the Women's Giant Slalom.
Stenmark only won in Slalom (40) and Giant Slalom (46). Shiffrin, on the other hand, is an all-rounder who has won races in all disciplines. Shiffrin has a record of 52 Slalom, 20 Giant Slalom, 5 Super-G, 3 Downhill, 3 City Events, 2 Parallel Slalom, and 1 Alpine Combined.
“This is just a spectacular day, oh my goodness. If you’d asked me, ‘would you prefer to get this victory, or to win the globe? You get one, but you don’t get both’. I would choose the globe today. At the start and I knew I had won the Giant Slalom globe before I raced. I thought ‘now I can take more risks and push a bit harder’. I got thrown around, but I tried to earn the victory as best I could", said Shiffrin.
"It's pretty wild. It is unbelievable to be mentioned in the same sentence as Ingemar Stenmark. I never wanted to break records. Those are just numbers. But of course it's a dream. If you had told me that when I was seven years old, I would have freaked out", she added.
Federica Brignone finished in second place 0.64 seconds behind Shiffrin. It's her 55th World Cup podium, the sixth one this season.
"Mikaela is skiing so great, she deserved another win. She is amazing. She is attacking, her technique is just perfect. What more can I say?. I was really attacking and risking a lot. The goal was to try to catch Mikaela and I tried my best. I am happy because I’m again second, again on the podium. I know I can ski good for the World Cup Finals, and play the game in the super-G and GS. I’m really excited", Brignone said.
Sara Hector delighted the home crowds and rounded out the podium in third place (+0.92). It's her 13th World Cup podium, all in Giant Slalom, the second one this season.
Hector is the second Swedish women's alpine skier to finish on the podium twice in a World Cup Giant Slalom race in Åre after Pärson (5). She finished second on 12 December 2014 behind Tina Maze. It was her first podium in the World Cup.
“It was really fun to race, and such a great feeling to do this at home in Sweden. Last year I lost the Globe here, so I thought I would get something, and it turned out good. I have so much history on this slope. I took my first podium ever here, my first World Cup, my first bad injury. My best and worst are here", Hector said.
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