Alpine skiing sensation Mikaela Shiffrin has once again rewritten the record books, securing her 99th World Cup victory at Gurgl, Austria. With this win, Shiffrin is one step closer to an extraordinary milestone—triple-digit World Cup wins. With every win, she continues to impress her fans and shows tough competition for opponents.
Stakes are much higher as the anticipation builds; all eyes now turn to Shiffrin’s next challenge. Through the next event, she has a chance to achieve the century mark—only a few selected athletes reach in any discipline. For Shiffrin, it’s not just about the numbers; it’s about her unrelenting pursuit of excellence, a narrative that promises to unfold.
Mikaela Shiffrin’s historic victory at Gurgl
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Mikaela Shiffrin belongs to a ski racer family, from her paternal grandfather to her elder brother, who began their careers at different universities. Shiffrin’s career journey started in 2010 when she was 14 years old, competed against skiers from 40 nations, and won both the slalom and GS at the Topolino Games in Italy. At that young age, she wouldn’t have thought to reach this level—almost a century in the World Cup wins.
Mikaela Pauline Shiffrin recently competed in the Gurgl slalom and bagged her record-extending 99th World Cup win of her career. NBC Olympics & Paralympics also shared her win on their ‘X’ account, with a quote, “Mikaela Shiffrin is no stranger to the top of the podium 🫡. The national anthem plays for her for the 99th time in her World Cup career 🇺🇸.” However, she ended her first run with only a 0.13s lead but ended up winning her 99th victory with a margin of 0.55 seconds and an overall time of 1:40.22, defeating Lara Colturi and Camille Rast. It was her 62nd World Cup slalom win and the second one after this week’s last Finland win.
Mikaela Shiffrin is no stranger to the top of the podium. 🫡
The national anthem plays for her for the 99th time in her World Cup career. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/qb20t6Gklx
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) November 23, 2024
After clinching her 99th win of her World Cup career, she expresses her feelings: “I was really nervous on the top; it feels really satisfying to have a great run down this slope. What a wonderful day today.” Creating one history, Mikaela Shiffrin is all geared for her next big win.
Shiffrin eyes on the next challenge
The two-time Olympic medalist missed the podium in Solden but soon bagged her 98th World Cup victory in the first slalom race of the season on November 16 at Levi Finland. She was given a traditional Finnish prize—to celebrate a win. Shiffrin has earned the most World Cup points in three American events—the Stifel Killington Cup, Mont Tremblant World Cup, and Stifel Birds of Prey in Beaver Creek.
This victory marks her 154th Alpine World Cup podium of her career and breaks the record of 86 World Cup wins of Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden until 2023. With that, Shiffrin now moves to her next victory, as the next location is Killington, USA—to bag her 100th win (now holding the all-time record for most World Cup wins). She will compete in slalom and giant slalom, scheduled on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1.
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More achievements mean more responsibility, and it can increase pressure, right? And it’s absolutely normal. Despite winning and competing in so many different championships, one can feel performance pressure, and the same is happening with Shiffrin. Reflecting on her feelings, she said, “I guess there’s a bit of pressure around it, but I’ll try to ignore that. If it happens, it’s wonderful. If it doesn’t happen, nothing to cry about in the grand scheme. I hope to have a really good performance in front of the home crowd.”
Mikaela Shiffrin performed her heart out and clinched victory in five events since her knee injury (fortunately only suffered from a sprain) in January at the Italy World Cup. As another massive win is waiting for Shiffrin, fans and the skiing world are looking forward to seeing her make history by winning the 100th World Cup of her career.
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