Zagreb delivers Shiffrin’s 81st World Cup victory

Mikaela Shiffrin’s 81st Victory Photo – GEPA Pictures

ZAGREB, Croatia — Mikaela Shiffrin has won the first World Cup race of 2023 and moves within one victory of Lindsey Vonn’s record.

Nothing seems to prevent Shiffrin from succeeding. Despite a challenging snow surface, Shiffrin earned her fifth win in as many races. As Shiffrin began her final run, Petra Vlhova sat in the leader’s chair with a 0.45-second lead. Vlhova had shown she was a force to be reconned with. However, despite the deteriorated course and with little suspense, Shiffrin added to her lead at every interval and finished victorious. Rounding out the podium is Sweden’s Anna Swenn-Larsson, who finished 1.21 seconds behind the winner. 

“I think it was two nearly perfect runs. I couldn’t do it better, Shiffrin reflected on her day.  “If I had to go up and do it again, I couldn’t do it better. So, I’m really happy with my skiing.”

The 27-year-old Colorado native was circumspect about the possibility of tying Vonn’s record of 82 all-time wins in tomorrow’s race: “I’m doing my best not to count….I had such a good feeling today, so I’m really excited to come back out tomorrow, but it’s a new day and I think many of these athletes will be pushing even harder than today.  So I’m not taking it for granted, and we’ll do the best we can and see what happens.”

Shiffrin’s march into the history books

There isn’t much to say other than ski racing fans are witnessing the amazing. Shiffrin appears to be the best she has ever been. More precision, more strength, and more confidence than ever before. Winning five in a row while competing in the current field of ski racers seems beyond even her capabilities. However, it would be misguided to bet against the U.S. phenom tomorrow. Thursday will be another exciting chance to witness history being made. One of the best-ever athletes is able to tie Vonn’s record with one more win.

Nick Zaccardi of NBC Sports reports Shiffrin’s win percentage is nearly unmatched among the athletic elite.

Canadians continue to perform

Canadian Laurence St Germain provided more great news for North American skiers and fans. Skiing a course first is advantageous but taking advantage of the opportunity is a skill. On a day like today, finishing 30th during the first run is advantageous. St. Germain took advantage of running first to move up 16 positions. Skiing the fastest final run, she finished 14th.

St Germain’s teammate Amelia Smart also skied well and moved up ten places to finish eighth. Considering the conditions and depth of talent in the race, it’s notable that three North American women finished in the top 15, including Shiffrin’s win.

Not all were so lucky; seven women started the final run and did not finish, and only three women with bib numbers higher than 30 scored in today’s race.

Analysis of the top 3 and other top 30 North Americans and final results

Race results January 4th Zagreb women’s slalom

The Associated Press contributed to this report.