By Pia Perthen, Sports Editor
Interested ski fans can watch the courageous men and women speeding down the ski slopes and striving for great success. One of these tough skiers is American Mikaela Shiffrin, who just recently rewrote record books and showed everyone what women can achieve with hard work and determination.
On March 11, two days before her 28th birthday, Shiffrin – from Vail, Colorado – crowned herself with her 13th season victory, becoming the sole record holder for the 87th World Cup win. Just 24 hours earlier, Shiffrin had matched the previously-thought unbeatable record of Ingemar Stenmark’s 86 wins with her victory in the giant slalom. She is, thus, the most successful person ever to have stood on two alpine skis.
“I am impressed with Shiffrin’s hard work, determination, and discipline. I have that feeling that nothing can stop her, and she gives her very best,” said Olivia Deakins, a freshman majoring in sports business and playing for the women’s golf team at Saint Leo University. Deakins was born and raised in the United States and has been skiing since she was young. Shiffrin is one of her biggest role models.
“Shiffrin is the GOAT (Greatest of All Time)! If I didn’t have a college golf career right now, I would want to be her,” said Deakins. “She is giving her best at everything she does, and I am impressed with all of her hard work, especially at the gym.”
Recently, Shiffrin set a new victory record in the Alpine Ski World Cup since she celebrated her 83rd World Cup victory at the giant slalom in Kronplatz, Italy, on Jan. 24, 2023, where she became the woman with the most World Cup wins in skiing. Until then, Shiffrin had shared the top spot on the all-time best list with her retired compatriot Lindsey Vonn.
After this victory, it was clear that Shiffrin could crack Stenmark’s eternal best record – and Shiffrin did not disappoint.
The question was only when this would happen. On March 10 and 11, 2023, exactly 3,732 days after Shiffrin’s first World Cup victory in Åre, Sweden, she celebrated a historic success in the same place. Shiffrin won the giant slalom in Sweden and tied with Swedish ski legend Stenmark in World Cup triumphs (86). Twenty-four hours later, she won the slalom at the same ski-slope in Sweden as the day before and overtook Stenmark with 87 World Cup wins.
66-year-old Stenmark celebrated his last World Cup victory on Feb. 19, 1989, and maintained this prestigious ranking for over 34 years before being overtaken by Shiffrin in his home country. Stenmark followed the giant slalom on TV from his home in Stockholm. With 52 wins in slalom, 20 in giant slalom, five in parallel races, five in super-G, three in downhill, and one in combined, Shiffrin is a successful and exceptional athlete.
“This is an incredible breakthrough for women,” said Deakins. “It shows that not necessarily men are better at alpine skiing, and I think it is highly inspirational for all young ski girls out there.”
Shiffrin was the center of attention on this day as a circle closed for her in Åre. It was on Dec. 20, 2012, that she celebrated her first World Cup victory at the same location in the slalom as a 17-year-old.
Shiffrin ended her 2022-23 season with style as she achieved her 88th World Cup victory in giant slalom at Soldeu in Andorra, Europe.
However, Shiffrin has been through a lot. When she was on a career high, her father, who was always her biggest supporter throughout her whole skiing career, suddenly died as he suffered from a severe head injury in an accident and died early in 2020. Shiffrin was devasted and even considered quitting ski racing forever. With a lot of encouragement from her family and friends, Shiffrin fought and gave everything on and off the slopes to make her father proud and succeeded in not giving up.
“Shiffrin managed to fight and come back after her father’s death, who has been her biggest supporter through it all,” said Deakins. “I think it is amazing to see that she overcame this challenging period in her life and is now out there breaking records.”
Now, of course, everyone is wondering how many more victories will follow and who will ever be able to break this record again, which had been held for over 34 years.
