SPINDLERUV MLYN, Czech Republic — Mikaela Shiffrin has cemented her hold on the World Cup slalom season title, securing a place in alpine skiing history as the first athlete to capture nine season titles in a single discipline over the World Cup’s six-decade tenure.
The American athlete’s achievement may soon be paralleled by teammate Lindsey Vonn, who boasts eight downhill titles and currently leads that discipline’s standings during her return season after initially retiring in 2019.
On the men's circuit, skiers Ingemar Stenmark and Marcel Hirscher each have earned eight slalom globes and overall titles respectively, underscoring the rarity and significance of Shiffrin’s new record.
Shiffrin delivered a commanding performance in the last slalom event before the Milan Cortina Winter Games, comfortably securing the discipline lead with two races still to come. She achieved wins in both runs on Sunday, outpacing the competition by a considerable margin.
Her nearest competitor in this event was Camille Rast, the reigning world champion from Switzerland, who finished 1.67 seconds behind Shiffrin. The remainder of the field, led by Germany's Emma Aicher, trailed by more than two seconds.
The day before, Shiffrin also completed her first giant slalom podium finish in two years, demonstrating competitive form heading into the Olympics. Nevertheless, she cautions against assuming that these results directly predict Olympic outcomes.
"The Olympics present a fundamentally different challenge," stated Shiffrin, who earned slalom gold in 2014 and giant slalom gold four years later but did not complete any technical events at the 2022 Games.
She added, "I've experienced both highs and lows at the Olympics. My approach is to maintain an open mind and team trust. We're bringing a strong squad, so the focus is on enjoying the experience."
The recent competitions were held at the Czech venue where Shiffrin made her World Cup debut at age 15 in March 2011.
Reflecting on competing at the site of her inaugural World Cup race, she remarked, "Being here feels incredible. It reminds me of being 15, just loving the sport. That feeling hasn’t changed."
While clinching the slalom globe and achieving another record could have been distractions, Shiffrin stated she was fully focused on the technical demands of the course.
"It was difficult to dwell on that during the race given everything requiring attention on the course. Thus, clinching the title is a pleasant surprise," she said.
Shiffrin initially claimed the slalom globe at 18 in 2013, with her most recent before this season won two years ago. Throughout the last season, she led the standings before missing two months due to a giant slalom crash, during which Croatia's Zrinka Ljutic took the slalom title.
She holds the records for career race wins in slalom with 71 and overall with 108, achievements unmatched across men’s and women’s competition.
Regarding her motivation, Shiffrin explained, "In slalom, I feel I am approaching the limit of how fast I can ski. In giant slalom, there is still room to improve and develop, which drives me to enhance consistency and athleticism."
With seven wins out of eight slaloms this season, Shiffrin maintains an unassailable 288-point lead over runner-up Rast. Two additional slalom races remain post-Olympics, with each victory worth 100 points.
Rast secured the sole slalom victory that Shiffrin did not claim this season, winning in Slovenia three weeks prior.
The women's World Cup schedule continues next weekend in Crans-Montana, featuring downhill and super-G events, which are the final World Cup races before the Olympic competition begins.