Mikaela Shiffrin claims 75th World Cup win in Levi slalom
The American won the season opener in Finland ahead of Anna Swenn Larsson and reigning Olympic champion Petra Vlhova.
Alpine Skiing
Mikaela Shiffrin started her 2022-23 World Cup season in perfect style with her fifth Levi slalom victory on Saturday (19 November).
The two-time Olympic champion danced with delight in the finish area after moving up from third place on the first run to claim the 75th World Cup triumph of her career.
She has now won races in each of the last 11 seasons, equalling the women's record jointly held by Vreni Schneider (1984/85-1994/95) and Renate Götschl (1996/97-2006/07).
Shiffrin won by 0.16s from Sweden's Anna Swenn Larsson with Slovakia's reigning Olympic slalom champion Petra Vlhova - the other five-time Levi slalom winner - a further 0.04s adrift in third.
Germany's Lena Duerr had an unfortunate repeat of her Beijing 2022 Olympic Games experience in which she led after the first run only to finish fourth. Her only World Cup win was in the City Event in Moscow in January 2013.
The women’s alpine skiing season had been delayed by two weather-affected false starts, so for the first race to go ahead was a relief to all.
Shiffrin and Vlhova will bid for a record-breaking sixth Levi slalom win on Sunday.
The 27-year-old American told FIS afterwards, "It felt good. My skiing, on the second run especially, felt very good. I made the adjustment that I wanted to make which... it's just a really nice feeling. I'm excited to ski it again tomorrow.
""Finally we're racing and actually quite a spectacular race to start with in very nice conditions."
"Today was a really good day. It was not easy, I was a bit nervous but, in the end, I could ski the way I wanted to." - Mikaela Shiffrin
Race planning the key for Shiffrin?
It may be early days, but a change to Shiffrin’s race plan this season appears to be paying dividends.
Instead of travelling so much between events, Shiffrin and her team have decided to spend more time in each location prior to races. The American spent 10 days in Levi prior to the season-opener for the first time, a decision that looks ominous for her competitors, including main rival Vlhova.
The Slovak loves this course, taking both races here last year, but the Olympic champion could not challenge her main rival for the Crystal Globe this time despite a second run push.
The duo have dominated completely at Levi over the years with Slovenia's two-time Olympic champion Tina Maze the last woman outside of Vlhova and Shiffrin to win here back in 2014.
Reindeer prize
The defending overall World Cup champion now has five career wins in Lapland to match last year's slalom globe winner Vlhova.
That means, the pair have 10 reindeers between them as, unique to this event, each winner is 'given' one of the furry beasts as a prize. The animals remain in Lapland but the skiers name them.
Shiffrin named her 2019 prize, Ingemar, in honour of Swedish technical legend Ingemar Stenmark whose tally of 86 World Cup wins remains the all-time record.
American great Lindsey Vonn is second on the list with 82 ahead of Shiffrin on 75.
Records do not interest Shiffrin, as she told Olympics in an exclusive interview last month, but she has every chance of passing Vonn this season.
Having made her World Cup debut aged 15, the Colorado native is on track to become the most successful skier in World Cup history.
Women’s Alpine skiing World Cup slalom results – Levi:
1. Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) 1:51.25
2. Anna Swenn Larsson (SWE) 1:51.41
3. Petra Vlhova (SVK) 1:51.45
4. Lena Duerr (GER) 1:52.00
5. Wendy Holdener (SUI) 1:52.04
6. Ana Bucik (SLO) 1:52.46
7. Sara Hector (SWE) 1:52.57
8. Thea Louise Stjernesund (NOR) 1:52.63
9. Hanna Aronsson Elfman (SWE) 1:52.69
10. Leona Popovic (CRO) 1:52.95
For full results, see here.