★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★
★ To get the daily Sports Examiner Recap by e-mail: sign up here! ★
≡ SHIFFRIN INTO HISTORY ≡
After her brutal crash on 30 November in Vermont and the surgery that followed, it was amazing to see Alpine skiing superstar Mikaela Shiffrin back in FIS World Cup action on 30 January and then taking a FIS Alpine World Championships gold in the Team Combined with U.S. teammate Breezy Johnson.
Shiffrin is expected be back to the World Cup circuit this weekend in Sestriere, Italy, with Giant Slaloms scheduled for Friday and Saturday and a Slalom on Sunday. She skipped the Worlds Giant Slalom, not ready to face that kind of course after her November crash, but finished a very creditable fifth in the Worlds Slalom.
Wherever she goes, the record book follows her and she has a shot at two milestones this weekend:
● Shiffrin has 99 World Cup wins, including 62 Slaloms – the most ever – and 22 Giant Slaloms, and is looking for no. 100. No one else has more than 86.
● Shiffrin is close to another record with a medal of any color in Sestriere. She has 154 total World Cup medals (99-27-28) and with another, she will tie Swede Ingemar Stenmark (1973-89) for the most in World Cup history at 155!
She shared some insights into her Worlds experience in a seven-part message on X on Tuesday:
● “It seems impossible to have made it this far, this quickly. But here we are…returning to competition essentially during World Championships after 10 weeks of injury. 9 weeks post-surgery, 8 weeks after…
● “…being laid up in bed with a JP [Jackson-Pratt] Drain sticking out of my side with a mostly useless oblique.
“Something I’ve learned about how expectations work in a situation like this is that no matter the story of how we got here, there is still always the anticipation of victory…
● “While it is a privilege to be in that position, this time I’m still recovering while we are racing. My team and I came to this World Champs with a ‘step by step’ mentality, rather than the ‘go for gold’ mentality. That’s a very unique position to be—unlike anything I’ve…
● “…experienced before. It’s pretty cool to still be experiencing new things, this far into my career.
“I’m moving forward from Saalbach 2025 with a few simple takeaways: just getting here, period, has been a massive success, borderline miraculous…
● “…Walking away with a Gold in Team Combined with Breezy is far beyond my wildest dreams for these weeks. My teammates are incredible (we knew this already)! Their performances, the medals earned, the grit and determination that each one of them has put into this season…
● “…and these Worlds has been inspirational. I’m so grateful to be part of this team.
“Thank you to all of the fans who came to cheer! Thank you to Saalbach, all of the organizers, and FIS for pulling together an incredible event. Thank you to all of the athletes for incredible…
● “…competition…that has been wonderful to take part in and to watch! Thank you to my whole support system for your work and greatness, without which I could not achieve anything great at all. #MovingRightAlong”
Shiffrin has experienced success in Sestriere, winning the Slalom there in 2016, a Slalom silver in 2022 and a Giant Slalom bronze in 2020. One more and it’s another entry in the record books.
¶
★ Receive our exclusive, weekday TSX Recap by e-mail by clicking here.
★ Sign up a friend to receive the TSX Recap by clicking here.
★ Please consider a donation here to keep this site going.
For our updated, 895-event International Sports Calendar for 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!
