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≡ THE RECORD SETTER ≡
In an essentially storybook setting, American skiing superstar Mikaela Shiffrin returns to where she went to high school to try and extend her all-time record for most World Cup wins to 100 at the Stifel Killington Cup, in Vermont.
Shiffrin, still just 29, attended Burke Mountain Academy in Vermont from 2009-13, and debuted on the FIS World Cup circuit while still in school there, in 2011! Killington is about 80 miles southwest of Burke, and Shiffrin will have plenty of fans in attendance to see her try for 100 World Cup wins.
The Killington schedule:
● 30 Nov. (Sat.): Giant Slalom
● 01 Dec. (Sun.): Slalom
In the U.S., the races will be shown on NBC and Peacock beginning at 1 p.m. Eastern on Saturday and 12:30 p.m. Eastern on Sunday. Steve Schlanger, 1998 Olympic women’s Super-G gold medalist Picabo Street and former U.S. team member Steve Porino will be on the call, with Heather Cox as the field reporter.
Shiffrin has been hot out of the gate this season, winning two of her three races:
● 26 Oct.: Giant Slalom in Soelden (AUT): 5th
● 16 Nov.: Slalom in Levi (FIN): 1st
● 23 Nov.: Slalom in Gurgl (AUT): 1st
Even at the season opener – where she finished fifth – Shiffrin led after the first run, but then faded on the second.
She has been sensational in the Slalom, but less so in the Giant Slalom. She has 22 career wins – the most in women’s history – in the Giant Slalom, and 43 career medals. But in the Slalom, she has more wins than anyone – 62 – and a staggering 86 World Cup medals.
At Killington, she has been unstoppable in the Slalom, winning six times, in 2016-17-18-19-21-23, but less so in the Giant Slalom, with a silver in 2017 and bronzes in 2019 and 2023. She said after her win in Gurgl that getting to no. 100 will not be easy:
“It’s not impossible, but so many things have to go right. I think from outside it looks it looks easy, or it looks like it’s supposed to happen this way, but even today took so much energy to bring out my top skiing.
“So, it’s not easy, and everybody’s pushing and catching up. And so, I’m not taking that for granted.”
Shiffrin has averaged more than eight wins a year in her career so far and looks to be on the way to that many or more in 2024-25:
● 2013: 4
● 2014: 5
● 2015: 6
● 2016: 5
● 2017: 11
● 2018: 12
● 2019: 17
● 2020: 6
● 2021: 3
● 2022: 5
● 2023: 14
● 2024: 9
● 2025: 2 so far
That’s 99 and counting, with the next opportunity on Saturday. She also can tie and possibly set another World Cup record, for the most medals. She has 154 so far, one behind all-time leader Ingemar Stenmark (SWE: 1973-89), who she passed for the most career wins. She can tie him in the medal count at 155 on Saturday and become the all-time leader on Sunday.
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