Wow! Our local ski racer Mikaela Shiffrin has broken the record! We in Eagle County, Colorado claim local pride because we have followed Mikaela her entire career. In fact, for her first Olympics, a local restaurant aired her race live to a crowded and excited room of locals. I have a “Mikaela” cowbell that I rang in celebration this morning as I heard the news on the radio.
Well done Mikaela!
From the Vail Daily: Ryan Sederquist
Mikaela Shiffrin breaks all-time World Cup Alpine ski wins record
Shiffrin wins slalom by 0.92 seconds in Are, Sweden, the site of her first World Cup win in 2012
What was once imminent is now official. Mikaela Shiffrin stands alone atop the World Cup Alpine ski wins list.
Two days before her 28th birthday, the Edwards skier claimed her 87th-career World Cup victory, surpassing the mark set by Ingemar Stenmark over 30 years ago. Her combined two-run time on the Störtloppsbacken slope was 1 minute, 41.77 seconds, 0.92 seconds ahead of Swiss skier Wendy Holdener and 0.95 in front of Swede Anna Swenn-Larsson.
At the bottom, the FIS public address announcer brought up the phrase, “the greatest of all time.”
“Pretty hard to comprehend that thought,” Shiffrin said.
“To the whole team and especially all the people who have helped me this whole season and my whole career. All the people who are reaching out now after all these years, it’s pretty incredible and I just want to say thank you for that.”
The victory, Shiffrin’s 13th this season, comes exactly 12 years to the day after her first race on the World Cup. She made her debut as a 15-year-old at a giant slalom in Spindleruv Mlyn, Czech Republic. In her first run, the American icon was the fifth starter and gained time on then-leader Holdener at every check point. With the fastest splits in all but one sector, Shiffrin’s 50.93-second mark was 0.69-seconds faster than hometown favorite Swenn-Larsson and 0.94 ahead of Holdener in third. American Paula Moltzan sat in fifth, 1.27 seconds back.
It’s nice to see so many US media cover skiing. The NY Times Headline:
How Mikaela Shiffrin Won More World Cup Races Than Anyone
Shiffrin has now won 87 World Cup races, passing Ingemar Stenmark’s record that stood for 34 years. Her ski racing career has been a master class in evading common pitfalls.
Twitter has so many great photos. Class act.
Two days ago, she tied. I love this image with Stenmark and Shiffrin side by side.
The run….
The tieing run two days ago in English. “She is on another planet. Another planet.” says the commentator.
This is the only video I can find, so far, of the 87th win.
Share your favorite images in the comments.