Mikaela Shiffrin won her 99th Alpine skiing World Cup victory in Austria, setting her up well to reach 100 wins on home soil in Vermont the following weekend.
Shiffrin claimed victory in the Gurgl resort slalom, finishing 0.55 seconds ahead of Lara Colturi, an Italian skier representing Albania, who took second place.
Camille Rast of Switzerland took third place on the Kirchenkar course.
Double Olympic champion Shiffrin, who was last to leave the start hut for a second run that earned her a record-breaking 62nd slalom victory, admitted, “I was really nervous on the top.”
The fact that their teams were cheering and I could hear all the other women falling indicates that they had a strong race.
Push, push. I’m thinking that it’s not going to happen today. Having a fantastic run down that slope is quite enjoyable. What a fantastic day.
No skier has achieved victory in 100 World Cup races and reaching this milestone in the eastern U.S. state would be an even bigger celebration for the 29-year-old, who went to ski school in that area.
Regarding the 100 mark, she remarked, “I suppose there’s a little pressure around it, but I’ll try to ignore that.” “If it occurs, it’s fantastic; if not, there’s really nothing to be upset about.”
“However, I’m hoping to perform really well in front of my home crowd.”
In March 2023, Shiffrin broke retired Swedish legend Ingemar Stenmark’s long-standing record by earning her 87th career World Cup victory.
