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Shiffrin starts the ski season on the right foot, winning two more reindeer in Finland
Staff report
As the women’s World Cup athletes prepare to race Superstar in Killington next weekend, Mikaela Shiffrin is off to a strong start. She won back-to-back slalom races Nov. 19-20 in Levi, Finland.
Shiffrin, 27, broke Lindsey Vonn’s record for the most podiums in a single discipline by a female skier as she reached her 68th slalom podium and 49th win, topping Vonn’s 66 downhill podiums. Sunday’s was Shiffrin’s 76th World Cup victory overall, putting her seven wins away from Vonn’s record of 82 total wins for a female skier. Male skier Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden holds the most World Cup wins overall with 86.
“My coaches have been working like crazy, the whole team,” Shiffrin said, according to the International Ski Federation’s (FIS) website. “I’ve been pushing to my limit, which was such good preparation.”
This was Shiffrin’s sixth victory in Levi, earning Shiffrin her sixth reindeer — a traditional prize in Levi the winner receives. Shiffrin won the slalom there previously in 2013, 2016, 2018 and 2019.
On Saturday in Levi, Anna Swenn Larsson of Sweden finished second and Petra Vlhova of Slovakia third. On Sunday, Switzerland’s Wendy Holdener finished second and Vlhova was third, again.
The women’s World Cup athletes come to Killington next weekend, Nov. 26-27, to compete in a giant slalom on Saturday and a slalom on Sunday. Shiffrin is undefeated in the slalom and if she wins again this year, it will be her sixth slalom win in Killington. In giant slalom, she finished second, third, fourth and fifth (2016-2019, the races were canceled due to Covid in 2020 and the giant slalom was canceled last year due to severe weather and poor visibility).
“I love to race in Killington, it’s like a hometown, with an amazing venue and an amazing crowd,” said Shiffrin, according to FIS. “I have a great track record there, but it means I feel pressure. When you win, it gets harder.”
