The penultimate frontier fell. Mikaela Shiffrin extended this Tuesday his tally of victories in the world Cup alpine skiing to 83, a figure that makes him the second most successful human being in this competition. Gone are the 82 that Lindsey Vonn, also an American, achieved, a prodigy from the American school that has had continuity in Shiffrin, which is now only left behind by the Swede Ingemar Stenmark, who went up to 86 between the 70s and 80s. the last century.
Shiffrin signed the anniversary at the Italian Kronplatz, which on Tuesday hosted a giant slalom in which Colorado, one of the main winter sports destinations in America, booked both sleeves. The Swiss Lara Gut completed the podium, 0.45 seconds behind the champion, and the Italian Federica Brignone. It is the ninth win for Shiffrin in a spectacular season in which he has recovered his best level after a couple of years marked by the death of his father in a traffic accident and some injury. This Wednesday the Kronplatz will be the scene of a new giant slalom in which he could raise the tally to 84.
“There is not a single word to explain this. During the day you are nervous, restless, tense, tired… Too much tension to explain it,” Shiffrin said emotionally, on the same ski slope, after her triumph.. “I have tried to do my best, keep my nerves, the tension, and I am very happy. But tomorrow will be another day. The current level of skiing is very high and it is an honor to be there, in the fight for victory, always on the limit. A mistake will make you out of the podium. You have to try to take risks and do it well”, added the queen of women’s alpine skiing, the only woman to succeed in all six disciplines (downhill, super giant, giant, slalom, parallel and combined).
Shiffrin, with her victory, goes on to lead the giant slalom classification, with 500 points, displacing the Italian Marta Bassino (451). She also widely commands the general of the World Cup with 1,417 points, followed by the Swiss Lara Gut, with 861.