CNN
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American skiing star Mikaela Shiffrin has equaled Lindsey Vonn’s record of 82 World Cup wins with victory in the giant slalom at Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, on Sunday.
The two-time Olympic gold medalist is now the joint record holder for the most World Cup wins by a female skier, and by an American.
After taking a 0.24-second lead in the first run, Shiffrin finished 0.20-second ahead of Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami, who finished third overall, and Slovakia’s Petra Vlhova in her second run. Italy’s Federica Brignone placed second overall.
“I was so nervous this run,” Shiffrin said after the victory. “I don’t know why maybe a little bit was because of 82. I really wanted to ski it well and I did, can’t believe it.”
Shiffrin is now four wins away from tying the overall record for World Cup wins, currently held by Sweden’s Ingemar Stenmark (86).
Shiffrin had to wait for her record-tying victory after the previous race in Zagreb was canceled on Thursday due to “high temperatures and wind,” race organizers said in a tweet.
Then on Saturday, she finished joint sixth in the giant slalom in Kranjska Gora, behind winner Valerie Grenier of Canada.
Shiffrin’s recent form – she won five consecutive races before that sixth place – is a remarkable turnaround from the start of last year when the three-time Olympic medalist failed to get on the podium at the Beijing Games.
