Mikaela Shiffrin claims 98th career World Cup victory in Levi slalom
Marco Trovati/AP
The Killington count for 100 is still on.
Mikaela Shiffrin secured her 98th-career World Cup win on Saturday in Levi, Finland — moving one step closer to celebrating the century mark on the slope she trained on as a teenager in a couple weeks. The 29-year-old posted the fastest first and second runs on the Levi Black course en route to a dominant, 0.79-second win over Austria’s Katharina Liensberger.
“It’s just a great start to the slalom season,” Shiffrin told FIS media. “I had two really strong runs, so I’m happy to fight on the second run in some tough conditions — still good I would say — so yeah, just happy.”
Germany’s Lena Duerr rounded out the podium, and Paula Moltzan was the second American in eighth. Duerr enjoyed the best season of her career last year, snagging four podium finishes in her first six races, including a second and third in Levi last year.
“The last years in Levi were super nice for me,” the German tech specialist said. “And then today, I could again be on the podium — it was fun and a little bit relieving — so it’s a good start for the season.”
Shiffrin was flawless throughout the first run, securing the second-best split in the first sector and the fastest in the remaining three. Unlike the World Cup opener in Soelden, where she gave back most of her run one lead early — ultimately missing the podium altogether — the eight-time slalom crystal globe champion charged through the opening pitch on her second attempt, ballooning her lead by an additional 0.42 seconds.
While rough conditions caused a couple hiccups in the steeper section of the 180-meter slope, she was able to hold on to win her eighth reindeer — the traditional prize given to the Levi winner.
“Oh my goodness, the reindeer. I wasn’t thinking about it on the run,” she told FIS TV in the finish area before adding that the choppy snow threw her off slightly.
“Not the perfect tempo but enough really good turns that it worked really well,” she said. “In the end, really solid run in conditions (that were) not so easy.”
Liensberger echoed Shiffrin’s sentiment.
“On the second run there were some gates from the track that were a little bit bumpy,” the 2021 slalom world champion said. “But yeah, felt good. I just wanted to go fast, and it’s amazing to be here.”
Shiffrin, who won seven of the 10 slaloms she competed in last season, said it was important to start her strongest discipline well this season, especially with the upcoming grind.
“From this weekend, I’m racing every weekend until world championships. So it’s going to be a really big push now,” she said. “I was off on my mentality in Soelden, so hopefully, I can bring the GS under control, but it was really important to start in a good place in slalom.”
The women’s World Cup travels to Gurgl, Austria, for a slalom on Nov. 23, putting Shiffrin in prime position to eclipse 100 career wins in Killington, Vermont, which features a GS on Nov. 30 and a slalom on Dec. 1.
“The most challenging thing is when we’re up here skiing slalom in Gurgl, there’s not a lot of opportunity for GS training,” she said. “It’s also important to think about the GS timing, so I’m going to try to balance both and see if I can be prepared for Gurgl but also be prepared for the GS upcoming and then looking forward to the Beaver Creek super-G.”
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