There are few in the world who can claim to be legendary. And Mikaela Shiffrin stands right on top of that list. She is writing the alpine skiing rulebook one slalom at a time. But perhaps her most iconic slalom win came in Sochi 2014 when she went on to win the Olympic Gold. Thus, becoming the youngest-ever Olympic slalom champion. But that’s not all!

It was just the beginning of greater miracles to come! Coming to November 2024, Mikaela Shiffrin was all set to get back on the snow on the 23rd. She was all set to get yet another World Cup win. And what happened next was nothing short of miraculous!

Mikaela Shiffrin creates history yet again

Mikaela Shiffrin has just slid her way into yet another World Cup win. And guess what? It was her 99th World Cup. This time, she raced in Gurgl, Austria, where she went on to beat Italian sensation Lara Colturi and Swiss up-and-comer Camille Rast to win. Shiffrin, no less, won it, donning her trademark precision and gaining time in the lower sections of the Kirchenkar course.

Mikaela went on to win with a 0.55-second lead. “It’s a pretty strange surface, like cold and dry. It’s hard to be clean on the skis,” Shiffrin admitted post-race. “But in the end, I kept pushing forward and stayed on top of it.” Despite being nervous and unsure at the start, she went skiing like it was just second nature to her. Now, this is no ordinary achievement, and the world, as well as the fandom, knows it. And they have something to say about the wins!

Netizens are simply in awe of the snow queen

With the win, Mikaela Shiffrin seems to have invited a barrage of reactions. And each more glorious than the last. One fan cheekily went on to write, “Wow!!! One more reindeer, and you can pull Santa’s sleigh. Way to go, Mikaela!” The netizen is wrong! Her 98th win in Levi, Finland, where slalom winners get to name reindeer, has seen quite a bit of Mikaela!

Shiffrin, who is simply a master of the event, has named eight reindeer in her time. She named the first reindeer Rudolph, then came the Frozen-inspired Sven. This was followed by “Aleks,” a name that was inspired by her boyfriend, Aleksander Aamodt Kilde. The 29-year-old has named a few more reindeer, and they are called Sunny, Lorax, and Grogu. And the eighth one is named Rori, short for “Aurora Borealis.” Netizens, while geeking out, also went on to point out something else.

An astonished fan went on to write, “It’s ridiculous how damn smooth she is.” And that is a well-deserved as well as undebatable point! It is, perhaps, her routine that has played a role in keeping her momentum consistent. Unlike many elite athletes, she skips meditation and yoga and instead prioritizes sleep, which she claims is the ultimate recovery tool. So, how does her day go?

Well, it starts at dawn with core warm-ups before she heads to the slopes for hours of practice. Then she spends her afternoons in intense gym sessions, focusing on cardio, strength, and mobility. She follows up with film analysis and strategic adjustments, guided by data from her team. She is constantly checking and improving herself. So, it comes as no surprise that she manages to keep her consistency!

Talking about consistency, that is exactly what Mikaela Shiffrin’s season has been. Consistent! As another fan rightly puts it, “She’s 2/2 in Slalom. 99th victory! I really hope she gets her 100th at-home snow. It’s going to be very special, but the pressure is huge.” So why 2/2? Well, her 98th win was the season’s beginning. And now she is heading to her 100th race!

The iconic race for the century is set to happen in Killington, Vermont. And that’s the skier’s home ground! It was here that she spent a lot of her childhood. In fact, it was during her time at Burke Mountain Academy in Vermont that she developed her skills on the slope. Now, this is a full-circle moment for the American, and the pressure is truly on! But it’s not all that much pressure still, wondering why.

As a fan rightly pointed out, “She’s only 29 and can still race for a few more years.” Yes, that’s right, folks! Ninety-nine wins, and she is only 29. And with the kind of trajectory and discipline that Mikaela Shiffrin races, there are many more races and years left in her. Another fan summing it up wrote, “Just cancel slalom races and give the globe to Mikaela Shiffrin because these girls got nothing on her.” Hyperbole? Maybe.

But with the kind of technical superiority and track record that she has, it’s hard to argue otherwise. When Mikaela Shriffin is racing, the competition is chasing shadows. Meanwhile, she continues making history with every turn on the slopes.