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Mikaela Shiffrin Clinches Fifth World Cup Overall Title, Eyes Record 86th Win

Mikaela Shiffrin clinched her fifth World Cup overall title on Saturday, with seven races left on the season, but she remains one win away from matching Swedish skiing legend Ingemar Stenmark’s record of 86 World Cup victories.

The American ski star finished fifth in the downhill race in Kvitfjell, Norway, 0.79 seconds behind Kajsa Vickhoff Lie of Norway, the eventual winner. Her lead in the overall standings mathematically secures the crystal globe, breaking a tie with fellow American Lindsey Vonn and leaving her one shy of the women's record set in the 1970s by Annemarie Moser-Proell.^[0]

Shiffrin has 11 World Cup wins this season, the fourth time in her career she's reached double digits, to close in on Stenmark. She broke Vonn’s record for World Cup victories by a female skier on Jan. 24 with her 83rd win.^[1]

She won’t have to wait long for another crack at Stenmark’s record, though, with a downhill race in Kvitfjell on Saturday followed by another super-G on Sunday.^[1] Shiffrin is also in the running for the giant slalom globe.^[0]

In her first World Cup race in more than a month, Shiffrin was fourth in a super-G in Kvitfjell, Norway, on Friday.^[1] Shiffrin, an American, was pushed off the podium by Austria's Cornelia Huetter, who started five spots behind her and finished just 0.16 seconds later.^[1] Shiffrin finished 0.04 out of third place.^[1]

On Friday, 18-year-old Jordan Stolz from Wisconsin made history by becoming the youngest gold medalist in the world single distances championships.^[2] Speedskatingstats.com reported that Stolz surpassed the record previously held by Dutchwoman Femke Kok of being the youngest gold medalist. Kok had won the team sprint gold in 2020 at age 19.^[3] Martina Sáblíková, of Czech origin, was the youngest person ever to win an individual world championship event before Stolz. She won her first of sixteen distance titles at the age of 19 in 2007.^[3]

“There’s so much talk about the record and if it happens today or tomorrow or the next day.^[4]

0. “Mikaela Shiffrin wins fifth overall title, remains one behind Stenmark” USA TODAY, 4 Mar. 2023, https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2023/03/04/mikaela-shiffrin-wins-fifth-overall-title-remains-one-behind-stenmark/11398028002/

1. “Mikaela Shiffrin still chasing Ingemar Stenmark after latest race” USA TODAY, 3 Mar. 2023, https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2023/03/03/mikaela-shiffrin-chasing-ingemar-stenmark-finished-fourth-super-g/11389374002

2. “Shiffrin misses out on record-tying win but clinches fifth overall World Cup title” The Guardian, 4 Mar. 2023, https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/mar/04/mikaela-shiffrin-overall-world-cup-title-crystal-globe

3. “Mikaela Shiffrin clinches fifth World Cup overall title, wins record quest extended” NBC Sports, 4 Mar. 2023, https://olympics.nbcsports.com/2023/03/04/mikaela-shiffrin-world-cup-overall-title-wins-record/

4. “Mikaela Shiffrin places 4th in super-G, closes on overall title, remains 1 shy of wins record” NBC Sports, 3 Mar. 2023, https://olympics.nbcsports.com/2023/03/03/mikaela-shiffrin-kvitfjell-super-g/