But how far will Mikaela Shiffrin extend her reign? Crowned world champion in giant slalom on Thursday February 16, a week after obtaining silver in the super-G, the American queen of alpine skiing has the opportunity to add one more line to her list of achievements on Saturday February 18, during of the slalom of these Worlds, on the Roc de Fer track, in Méribel (Savoie).
An already very thick track record, which makes her, at 27, one of the greatest skiers of all time. The native of Vail, Colorado has the most women’s World Cup victories: 85 wins, three more than her compatriot Lindsey Vonn, the last on the slopes of Spindleruv Mlyn, in the Czech Republic, at the end January.
To this must be added three Olympic medals (two gold) in Sochi (Russia) in 2014 and Pyeongchang (South Korea) in 2018, thirteen world medals, including seven titles, in four different disciplines (slalom, giant slalom, super-G and combined), like Sweden’s Anja Paerson and France’s Marielle Goitschel before her. Admittedly, she remains a good distance from the German Christel Cranz (15 titles, including 12 titles), but that was before the war, in the Antiquity of skiing.
Since the Worlds in Schladming (Austria) in 2013, the American has always adorned herself with gold. “Shiffrin is really at the top, says Florence Masnada, former double Olympic medalist in combined now a consultant for Eurosport. She is technically very precise, her skiing is not risky, we have the impression that she always has a margin. Mikaela Shiffrin is modern skiing. » For Florence Masnada, “There is no photo, Shiffrin, she is the greatest skier of all time”.
The person concerned denies this and claims not to seek to engrave her name in the history of world skiing. She just confides that she has been “a bit nervous” departing from the giant of Kranjska Gora (Slovenia), on January 8, “because of the record” held by Lindsey Vonn which she would tie less than a minute later.
After her victory on Thursday at the giant Worlds, the American made this little reminder: “I don’t think I can do anything to be the greatest skier of all time. (…) Some people will consider me the best, others think I’m not even part of this debate. Both can be right. »
“It makes me dizzy”
From now on, the question is no longer whether it will beat the legendary record of Swede Ingemar Stenmark (86 World Cup victories), which seemed fixed for eternity, but rather when. Surely before the end of the season, in March, during the finals of Soldeu (Andorra). Many even see her cross the bar of 100 career victories, a mark that was thought to be unattainable. She never asked herself the question.
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