Mikaela Shiffrin is the undisputed queen of the snowy slopes. From a young age, the legend paved her way atop the sport of Alpine skiing, and she now stands tall as one of the greatest skiers ever. Shiffrin has made history by becoming the Alpine skier with the most World Cup wins by any other male or female skier.

And now, chasing her 100-win run, the legend earned her impressive 89th win at the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup 2023/24. However, despite this iconic moment, Shiffrin was left with a bitter and sweet feeling.

Mikaela Shiffrin left with mixed emotions after her 89th win

In an Instagram post by Eurosport and the Audi FIS Ski World Cup, Mikaela Shiffrin opened up in a post-race interview about defeating her formidable rival Petra Vlhová. She stated, “It’s a little bittersweet. I’m really happy with the victory, but I have to give her the credit. She earned it—probably a second and a half by the bottom, at least.”

On Saturday (November 11), Olympic champion Petra Vlhová was fastest on both runs as she took victory in the first slalom of the 2023/24 alpine skiing World Cup season by a massive 1.41 seconds from Germany’s Lena Duerr. However, on Sunday (November 12), on the same hill, after leading Shiffrin by 0.76 seconds after the first run, she faced a heartbreaking loss on her second run.

The surprising turn of events at the Audi FIS Ski World Cup

In Levi, Finland, at the Audi FIS Ski World Cup, Petra was skiing smoothly on her second run, seeking to secure victory once more. However, in the steep section midway down the Levi Black course, she straddled a gate, lost her balance, and exited the race, leaving Shiffrin in disbelief. Shiffrin, who was prepared to take second place, ended up with her seventh career victory in Levi.

She finished 0.18 ahead of Leona Popovic of Croatia, earning her the podium. Shiffrin also gave credit to her formidable competitor, saying, “I would say, Petra and her team, they earned this victory today”, and terming the surprising turn of events as a stroke of “really bad luck”.

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The victory left the champion feeling bittersweet, but Shiffrin herself worked hard to earn the win. Days before the race, she suffered a crash of her own, bruising a bone on her left knee. In her own words, Shiffrin admitted that the victory proved that she still had “a good mindset to fight”. 

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