Mikaela Shiffrin breaks all-time win record with her 83rd win: NPR

US skier Mikaela Shiffrin now stands alone at the top of women’s alpine skiing after claiming the No. 83 World Cup victory on Tuesday at Plan de Corones in northern Italy. Shiffrin broke the record she shared with fellow American player Lindsey Vonn after tying Vonn’s 82 wins earlier this month.

Shiffrin, 27, took the lead in her first run, overtaking two Olympic medalists – Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami and Italy’s Federica Brignone – by 0.13 seconds and 0.27 seconds respectively.

Shiffrin stormed out of the gate, seemingly determined to make history, her time trailing no other skier. Gut-Behrami, on the other hand, overcame a relatively slow start to scorch the track floor and challenge Shiffrin in the Dolomites.

This prepared the second run and Shiffrin’s last record attempt. At the weekend in Cortina, she placed in the top 10 at the downhill and super-G speed events. Now, at Kronplatz, Shiffrin let her heavenly mix of speed and technical ability shine.

In the crucial second heat, Gut-Behrami couldn’t quite find the speed she had on her first downhill run, finishing third but retaining her second overall.

Last of 30 athletes in heat two, Shiffrin started and kept the pressure on in the top half of the course before easing it and setting the fastest time in the latter part of the race to extend her overall lead over Gut-Behrami to 0.45 seconds .

That sparked celebrations – and a beaming Shiffrin was hugged by her US Alpine teammates, who were already wearing t-shirts to celebrate her record 83rd win.

Only Ingemar Stenmark stays ahead of Shiffrin

The win leaves just one name ahead of Shiffrin: Ingemar Stenmark, the legendary Swedish racer whose 86 World Cup wins are the most ever by a man or woman.

Stenmark is among those who expect even more greatness from Shiffrin.

“Shiffrin will win more than 100 [races]’ he predicted in an interview with Olympics.com, ‘and it doesn’t sadden me at all.’

Shiffrin, who was born and raised in Colorado, has been racing on the World Cup circuit since 2011 – she started her career just before she was 16. She is the only skier in history to have won a race in all six World Cup disciplines: downhill, super-G, slalom, giant slalom, combined and parallel.

Shiffrin has also shown rare consistency, managing injuries to his back and knees in a sport that sees athletes throwing their bodies downhill at speeds of 75 to 80 miles per hour. In the 2018/19 World Cup season, she won 17 races – a mark that no other male or female skier has ever matched.

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While their latest win makes history, it’s also a testament to Shiffrin’s resilience. Three years ago she admitted she was “devastated” after her father Jeff died in an accident at his home.

“I wish I could go back to a time where I could share it with more people I love,” Shiffrin said after her 82nd win earlier this month linked her with Vonn.

She has also shown grace and humanity in dealing with a series of disappointments suffered at last year’s Winter Olympics when she did not finish three races and failed to win a medal.

Ahead of the Italian race weekend, Shiffrin had won 82 of her 234 previous World Cup starts – meaning she wins 35% of her events at the best circuit in the world.

With her recent victory, Shiffrin is alone among the women and now she has Stenmark’s all-time record in her sights.