‘Unbelievable’ Shiffrin re-writes record books to become the greatest

It is official, Mikaela Shiffrin is the greatest Alpine skier of all time.

She is also undoubtedly one of the most dominant athletes in sport right now.

At the age of just 27 and 12 years to the day after her first Audi FIS World Cup race, the American stormed to her 87th victory. In a further piece of perfect symmetry, the win that took her past the great Ingemar Stenmark’s long-standing mark, came in the home of Swedish skiing, Are, where she won her first ever World Cup race back in 2012.

She did it in magnificent style too, dominating both slalom runs to take her second win in two days, this one by a vast margin of 0.92 seconds. The two skiers to get closest to the new record holder had just one word for Shiffrin’s quite remarkable career to date.

“Crazy,” laughed both second place Wendy Holdener and hometown hero Anna Swenn Larsson.

Stenmark himself recently gave the FIS his assessment of why Shiffrin is in a class of her own.

“She is a complete skier. She has a good technique, but it’s not only that. She has physical strength, she has a strong head – those things combined make her so good,” said the Swede who won his 86th race at the age of 32, back in 1989.

“And she’s smart too. She doesn’t have to race at 100% speed. She knows that the others have to go beyond their ability (to beat her) and that they will make some mistakes.”

Mistakes from her rivals or not, Shiffrin looked utterly untouchable in Are. Smooth and confident in the morning’s first run, she defied the nerves she claims to always feel in the second, to get into her free-flowing style almost from the gate.

After crossing the line, she froze seemingly in disbelief for a moment, before rocking on her haunches as the enormity of what she has achieved hit. The surprise presence in the finish area of her brother and his wife, alongside her mother, prompted the floodgates to open.

“Those are the moments that make this,” Shiffrin said, the tears still in her eyes. “I can’t put a name with the numbers, I’ve said this the whole time, I don’t know how to define that but when you have these special moments like being on the podium with Paula Moltzan in Semmering, seeing my brother and Christie and my mum in the finish today, that’s what makes it memorable.

“What an unbelievable day.

“I am so proud of the skiing I did both runs today. I am so proud of the team this whole season, every step of the way being strong and focused and positive and having the right goals and helping me manage my own focus and the distractions as well, it’s been incredible.”

Incredible is absolutely the right word. Even amongst her extraordinary efforts so far, this season stands out. Shiffrin has won six out of the 10 World Cup slalom races so far, plus six out of the nine giant slaloms. That means more than 63% of the time she has lined up for a technical World Cup race this season, she has won.

She has already secured the overall, the slalom and the giant slalom season titles and her efforts today take her to 53 World Cup slalom wins, already seven more than any other skier has managed in any single discipline.

The sport is lucky to have her and knows it.

“Congratulations on one of the greatest achievements in the history of sports, Mikaela,” FIS President Johan Eliasch said. “This was a record which was thought to be almost unbreakable. You are an inspiration for generations to come.”

She is an inspiration for the current generation too. Swenn Larsson, whose third place was a fourth podium in what has been a great season, is just thankful to be competing in the same era as Shiffrin.

“She is such a great athlete and person. She is unbelievable and it’s really cool to race against her,” said the Swede who could see her home from the top of the slalom run. “I hope to beat her one more time or two more times before I’m done, that’s my goal.”

Holdener, whose second place finish gave her a firm hold on overall second with Petra Vlhova skiing out on the second run, was almost speechless.

“She is a champ. When you think that many wins in so few years, it’s crazy,” said the Swiss star.

Worrying for them perhaps but undeniably exciting for sports fans the world over, Shiffrin is far from finished.

“It’s pretty hard to describe and not over yet which is even more ridiculous,” the 27-year-old said.

“I still had the same feeling on the start of this run that I have every race. I shouldn’t feel pressure but somehow I feel something in my heartbeat, that’s the anticipation we want to feel as ski racers and I have it and it’s stronger than ever.

“I am just getting started.”