Is Mikaela Shiffrin set to be the world’s greatest ski racer? - Sprongo blog

In light of Mikaela Shiffrin’s massive win in Sweden this week – her 14th World Cup win of the season – everyone has been raving about Shiffrin’s dominance in the skiing sport right now. With her win on Tuesday being her 14th victory this season, she is currently tied with Switzerland’s Vreni Schneider’s 1989 record of winning the most wins within a single season!

At only 23 years old (soon to be 24 in March), Shiffrin has proven herself to be one of the most successful Alpine skiers of her generation. Recently retired Lindsey Vonn – also referred to as the greatest female skier of all time – believes Shiffrin is “in a league of her own”, and is bound to break all records, as long as she stays focused and healthy.

Vonn took part in the final race of her international career during this year’s Alpine World Ski Championships. She retired just four wins short of the all-time record. She says Shiffrin is on the road to success, and even capable of breaking the great Ingemar Stenmark’s record of 86 World Cup wins.

We know Shiffrin is going to continue riding her wave of success, so let’s take a quick look back on her biggest wins this season!

Mikaela Shiffrin’s 36th slalom triumph

In the final race of 2018, Shiffrin secured her 36th victory in slalom, overtaking one of her childhood idols – Austria’s Marlies Raich – who had won 35 times before retiring back in 2014. This win made Shiffrin the most successful female slalom skier in the 52-year history of the World Cup. A great achievement to round out a successful year!

Super-G win in Cortina

Another great moment of the season was Shiffrin’s super-G win, which was her 54th win of her career.  She tore up the slopes in Cortina, finishing the race in 1 minute, 22.48 seconds – 0.16 seconds faster than runner-up Tina Weirather of Liechtenstein. Austria’s Tamara Tippler was a close third – just 0.02 second behind Weirather.

Shiffrin’s fourth World Championship slalom title

Mikaela Shiffrin made history at the World Championships in 2019, winning her fourth consecutive World Championship slalom title. She became the first racer in history to defend a World Championship title in four successive World Championships!

Here’s a full list of the American skier’s wins this season.

Do you think Mikaela Shiffrin is set to be the world’s greatest skier? For more on Mikaela Shiffrin and other skiing news, head to the Sprongo Blog.