Monday, December 27, 2021
Shiffrin tested positive
Ski superstar has to interrupt the record hunt
Mikaela Shiffrin is only 14 victories short of the World Cup before she draws level with the skiing legend Ingemar Stenmark. Successes she could take this season. But now the American has to take a break, she will test positive for the corona virus. This year she is no longer allowed to participate.
Now Mikaela Shiffrin has also got it. The exceptional American ski racer has tested positive for the corona virus. “I wanted to let you all know that I was fine, but unfortunately I had a positive Covid test,” wrote the 26-year-old on Twitter. She is in domestic isolation and will miss the upcoming World Cup races in Lienz, Austria. She wishes her teammates the best of luck for the giant slalom on Tuesday and the slalom on Wednesday (10 a.m. and 1 p.m.).
Shiffrin is not the first athlete to have to do without World Cup events this winter because of a positive corona test. Most recently, the world champions Lara Gut-Behrami from Switzerland and the Austrian Katharina Liensberger as well as the New Zealander Alice Robinson had to sit out – and thus possibly lost important points in the overall standings.
Slowed down when chasing a record
Shiffrin is now slowed down on her record hunt due to the positive result. She recently celebrated her 72nd World Cup victory in Courchevel, France. Only ten successes are missing until her compatriot Lindsey Vonn, who resigned in 2019 and who tops the all-time best list of alpine women with 82 victories. There are still 14 to the Swede Ingemar Stenmark, who is enthroned above all.
In the overall World Cup, which she has already won three times, Shiffrin is currently again at the top with 750 points. In Lienz, where she celebrated a double victory two years ago, she would have been one of the big favorites again. At the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing in February, she wants to compete for gold in several disciplines.
Shiffrin is a proponent of the corona vaccination. In April, she posted a video of how she received the injection, calling it “a step towards normalcy”. Now she won’t race for the remaining days of this year.