86th World Cup victory: Ski Queen Mikaela Shiffrin equals Stenmark’s record from 1989

Swede begrudge her the success
Ski queen Shiffrin equals Stenmark’s 1989 record

With her victory in the giant slalom in Are, Sweden, Mikaela Shiffrin equaled the record of the legendary Ingemar Stenmark. Both now have 86 World Cup victories. However, the American can finally pull away at the weekend.

Ski queen Mikaela Shiffrin has added another milestone to her illustrious career, equaling the winning record of legendary Swede Ingemar Stenmark. The American raced to her 86th World Cup success in the giant slalom in Are and equaled the 66-year-old’s record from 1989. “It’s a spectacular day,” she said.

“I’m happy for them. It’s really deserved,” Stenmark told the AFP news agency before Shiffrin’s race. He set his record in 1989 – it lasted for 34 years. Shiffrin will “be the first to win 100 races and even more if she stays healthy,” emphasized the 66-year-old. Already on Saturday in the slalom (10.30 a.m./1.30 p.m.) at the same place Shiffrin can replace Stenmark.

“When I was a little girl and dreamed of winning World Cup races, I never thought I could achieve this record. It’s incredible for me,” Shiffrin told Norwegian broadcaster NRK. But “no matter what I achieve: Ingemar Stenmark will always be synonymous with ski racing,” she emphasized: “He set the standard for all of us, for all generations. He’s the one.”

Not a good race for Germans

The 66-year-old appreciates Shiffrin’s qualities very much: “She has everything: good physical ability, good balance and a strong mind,” said Stenmark, “she is so talented that others have to take risks to beat her, and small ones at the same time Make mistakes.” While the two-time Olympic champion mostly achieved his successes in slalom and giant slalom, Shiffrin is also successful in Super-G, downhill and in the combination.

“It’s very impressive because I could never have done it,” said the former dominator. Shiffrin is a “super talent” and can drive until she is 40. “But I don’t know if that’s what she wants,” says Stenmark: “There are other important things in life, not just skiing.”

Second on the Störtloppsbakken was the Italian World Championship and Olympic runner-up Federica Brignone (0.64 seconds back) ahead of Olympic champion Sara Hector (Sweden/0.92). Lena Dürr narrowly missed the second run, Emma Aicher clearly.

With her 20th World Cup victory in giant slalom, the world champion in this discipline drew level with record holder Vreni Schneider from Switzerland. In addition, after the overall and slalom World Cup, she won the small crystal globe in the “giant” for the second time after 2019. For Shiffrin, who celebrates her 28th birthday on Monday, a circle closes at the 245th start in the World Cup: in Are on December 20, 2012 she got her first victory.

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