By Anietie Anii-Bassey
Mikaela Shiffrin has cemented her place in skiing history by securing the slalom season title with two races remaining, becoming the first athlete in the six-decade history of the World Cup to claim nine season titles in a single discipline.
The American star accomplished the feat just weeks before the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, where she is expected to compete in slalom, giant slalom, and the team combined events.
Shiffrin dominated the final slalom of the pre-Olympic season on Sunday, winning both runs to finish 1.67 seconds ahead of runner-up Camille Rast, the reigning world champion from Switzerland.
Germany’s Emma Aicher and the rest of the field trailed by more than two seconds, underscoring Shiffrin’s commanding performance. The victory followed her first giant slalom podium in two years, although the American athlete remained cautious about projecting that form to the Olympic stage.
“At the Olympics, it’s a totally different challenge,” Shiffrin said. “I’ve had great Olympics, I’ve had tough Olympics. I try to go in with an open mind, good spirit, trusting my team. We’re coming in with strong athletes, so it’s time to enjoy that.” She noted that her focus during Sunday’s race was on skiing rather than records.
“It’s actually hard to think about that today because there was so much to think about on the race course. So now it’s like a nice surprise,” she added.
Shiffrin’s win came at the Czech venue where she made her World Cup debut at age 15 in March 2011. Reflecting on the location, she said, “It just feels amazing to be here. I feel like when I was 15 years old still, like, I don’t know, just love skiing. I just love skiing. That’s the best feeling to be here.”
The slalom title brings her total career slalom globes to nine, with her first at age 18 in 2013 and her most recent two seasons ago. Despite missing part of last season following a giant slalom crash, she has accumulated 71 career race wins in slalom and 108 overall — records for both men and women in World Cup history.
Shiffrin has won seven of the eight slaloms this season, establishing an insurmountable 288-point lead over Rast in the discipline standings, with two more slaloms scheduled after the Olympics. Rast won the only slalom Shiffrin did not this season, in Slovenia three weeks ago.
While Shiffrin now holds the slalom record, teammate Lindsey Vonn remains in the conversation for historic achievement. Vonn, who returned from retirement in 2019, has already secured eight downhill titles and currently holds a strong lead in the downhill standings.
The two Americans may soon share the distinction of dominance in separate World Cup disciplines.
On the men’s side, history has been dominated by names like Ingemar Stenmark, who won the slalom globe eight times, and Marcel Hirscher, an eight-time overall World Cup champion. Shiffrin’s nine slalom titles now place her in the pantheon of skiing legends, marking a record that has never before been achieved in women’s or men’s competition.
Shiffrin also reflected on the personal drive that fuels her sustained excellence. “I’m motivated by the ability to ski faster. In slalom, I’m right up against the ceiling or the limit of how fast I believe that I can ski,” she said. “With GS, I feel that there is still room to grow and still room to move. For me, that’s the motivating thing — it’s like, ‘What can I do better or more consistent or more athletic?’”
The women’s World Cup resumes next weekend in Crans-Montana with a downhill and a super-G, marking the final events before the Olympic Games. Shiffrin’s dominance in slalom has set the stage for the American star to enter the Olympics as both a record-breaking champion and a strong contender across multiple disciplines.
Her historic ninth slalom globe not only solidifies her legacy in alpine skiing but also signals her continued hunger to push the limits of speed, skill, and consistency on the world stage.
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