SPINDLERUV MLYN, Czech Republic – American skier Mikaela Shiffrin dominated a slalom Saturday for her 85th career victory, moving below one of the World Cup records set by Swedish superstar Ingemar Stenmark in the 1980s.
She can keep up with Stenmark in another slalom Sunday.
Shiffrin had shared the women’s record of 82 wins with former teammate Lindsey Vonn before triumphing in back-to-back giant slalom events in Italy this week, adding a third straight win on Saturday.
Editors Favorites
The American celebrated with a shoulder shake and a beaming smile after finishing the race before third-place finisher Wendy Holdener and second-place finisher Lena Durr came over for a hug.
Shiffrin held a 0.29 second lead after the opening run, but lost a tenth of the lead after going too far in a few corners early in heat two before accelerating and once again posting the fastest time to defeat German Durr 0.60 seconds to beat.
“I knew it was going to be a bit of a risk and there’s a chance I might not finish at all, but I have to do my best to have a chance because these women are so strong,” Shiffrin said.
Switzerland’s Holdener was third, 1.31 seconds back, followed by slalom Olympic champion Petra Vlhová of Slovakia in fourth and Shiffrin’s American teammate Paula Moltzan in fifth.
The race took place in the town near the Czech-Polish border where Shiffrin made her World Cup debut almost 12 years ago at the age of 15. Shiffrin also won when the venue last hosted a World Cup race in 2019.
“Wow, I can hear you all so loud. Thanks for cheering. It’s incredible to be racing for this crowd,” she told viewers during a post-race interview.
Shiffrin laid the foundation for her victory with a clean opening run in which she got off to a fast start and put her opponents ahead by at least a quarter of a second in the first split.
She also gained time over most racers in a tricky passage midway through her run, where the track layout allowed for multiple routes to pass through the gates.
“You could ski either way,” Shiffrin said. “At the end of the track I was able to pick up a lot of speed. In the end, I felt really good about my run.”
Shiffrin has won five of the eight slaloms this season and extended her lead over Holdener in the discipline ranking to 175 points. She could complete the title if she leads by at least 200 points after Sunday’s race.
In total, the American has won eleven races this season. Only twice in her career has she won more races in a single season: 12 in 2017-18 and a record-breaking 17 in 2018-19.