Mikaela Shiffrin of the U.S. holds her skis as she celebrates with her team after winning the women's giant slalom race at Alpine Ski World Cup in Are, Sweden, March 10, 2023. /CFP
American Mikaela Shiffrin dominated a women's giant slalom in Are, Sweden on Friday to equal Swedish great Ingemar Stenmark's all-time record of 86 World Cup wins and complete a season's hat-trick of crystal globes.
The American skier can take the outright record on Saturday if she wins a slalom in the Swedish resort where she took her first victory in 2012.
Whereas Stenmark's success in the 1970s and 80s was limited to slalom and giant slalom, Shiffrin has also won in downhill, super-G, combined and parallel as well as the two technical disciplines.
"This is just a spectacular day," she said after celebrating at the finish. "Oh my goodness."
Shiffrin, who turns 28 on Monday, has already secured the overall World Cup title for a fifth time as well as the slalom crystal globe.
She was more than half a second clear of Canadian Valerie Grenier after the first leg and stretched her advantage in the second to beat Italy's Federica Brignone, who was fastest in that run, by 0.64.
Austria's Franziska Gritsch, who had been third after the first run, crashed out and Grenier faded to sixth.
Sweden's Sara Hector completed the podium, 0.92 slower than Shiffrin's combined time of one minute 54.64 seconds.
Mikaela Shiffrin of the U.S. speeds down the course during the women's giant slalom race at Alpine Ski World Cup in Are, Sweden, March 10, 2023. /CFP
The 100 points for a win gave Shiffrin an unassailable lead in the giant slalom standings, with only one race remaining at next week's World Cup finals in Andorra. She is set to become only the third skier to break 2,000 points overall.
She knew the giant slalom (GS) globe was hers when Switzerland's Lara Gut-Behrami, the closest rival before the race, failed to finish the first run.
"I knew the GS globe was locked in before I raced so then I just wanted to push and kind of fight for it," said Shiffrin, who has now won six out of nine giant slaloms this season as well as world championship gold.
"It was harder with the visibility. For the first run I had luck with the light, so the second run was much more dark and I just kept trying to push."
The win was the 20th of her career in giant slalom, equaling the women's record in the discipline of retired Swiss skier Vreni Schneider.
Although she said the GS globe had been her biggest dream for the rest of the season, there was no doubting the importance of the landmark win as Shiffrin stood on the podium holding a pair of skis with the number 86 on the base.
"I think now we will send some messages back and forth," she said of Stenmark, before addressing the absent Swede via a television interview.
"No matter what I do, it doesn’t compare to what you achieved," she said.
"Maybe I get the 87th victory, maybe not, but for me the biggest dream is to be mentioned in the same sentence as you. It's pretty special – who you are, who you were as a ski racer, what you achieved as a human. That's the most inspiring thing. You may not want attention, but you still get it."
Shiffrin had taken her 85th win on January 28 in the Czech resort of Spindleruv Mlyn after breaking compatriot Lindsey Vonn's women's record of 82 earlier that month.
Read more:
Mikaela Shiffrin breaks modern record with gold in giant slalom at world championships
Mikaela Shiffrin equals Lindsey Vonn's women's World Cup wins record