Mikaela Shiffrin of the United States takes first place in the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup women's slalom event at Spindleruv Mlyn, Czech Republic, January 28, 2023. /CFP
Mikaela Shiffrin scooped up her 85th World Cup success on Saturday to leave the U.S. ski sensation just one shy of the overall wins record held by Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden.
Forging into the lead in the first leg of the slalom at Spindleruv Mlyn in the Czech Republic, Shiffrin nailed the second leg to beat German Lena Duerr by over half a second.
The Colorado-born skier is in such irrepressible form she will be favored to draw level with Swedish icon Stenmark's tally that has stood for over 30 years in Sunday's second slalom at the Czech ski resort.
Shiffrin arrived at Spindleruv Mlyn, where she made her World Cup debut in 2011, on the back of two giant slalom wins in the space of 24 hours this week in Italy's Kronplatz.
That quick-fire double in Italy pushed the 27-year-old to within touching distance of the overall wins record of 86 held by Stenmark.
Tuesday's 83rd victory had given her the women's record for most wins on the elite circuit she had shared with retired fellow American Lindsey Vonn.
With another slalom to come at Spindleruv Mlyn, she could well draw level with Stenmark before the weekend is out, and secure her seventh slalom title.
Shiffrin's 11th win of the season cemented her massive lead in the race for alpine skiing's big crystal globe. She leads Slovak Petra Vlhova of Slovakia by 671 points in the overall standings with a dozen races to go.
Mikaela Shiffrin of the United States finishes her women's slalom run during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup at Spindleruv Mlyn, Czech Republic, January 28, 2023. /CFP
Her first run on Saturday gave her a 0.29 second lead over Duerr with Vlhova third at 0.46 second and the chasing pack over one second adrift.
In the second run, on a perfect slope, she avoided any slip-ups to finish .60 clear of Duerr with Swiss Wendy Holdener third at 1.31.
"I knew that in taking a bit of a risk there was a chance I wouldn't finish the race. I needed to find my best line to have a chance as these women are so strong," said Shiffrin.
Like Shiffrin, Stenmark relished the slalom and giant slalom with the Swede dominating the two disciplines from 1975 before retiring in 1989.
Shiffrin has bounced back in emphatic style after a nightmare Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games where she failed to win a single medal.
She is heavy favorite to add to her haul of golds at next month's world championships in France's Courchevel and Meribel.