Mikaela Shiffrin moves within one of Lindsey Vonn’s Alpine skiing World Cup record with victory in Zagreb
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Updated 04/01/2023 at 20:36 GMT
Mikaela Shiffrin recorded an 81st Alpine skiing World Cup win after a dominant display in Zagreb to win the Snow Queen trophy and move within one of equalling Lindsey Vonn’s record of 82 World Cup victories. Shiffrin is also just five wins behind the all-time record for men and women which is held by Ingemar Stenmark. Stream the 2022-23 Alpine Skiing season live on Eurosport and discovery+.
Shiffrin puts together flawless second run to win Zagreb slalom and close on Vonn record
Mikaela Shiffrin has moved within one win of Lindsey Vonn’s record of 82 World Cup victories after a blistering slalom performance in Zagreb.
It’s Shiffrin’s fifth consecutive win after she stood on the top step of the podium in St Moritz and won all three races last week in Semmering.
She is now just five victories behind the all-time record of most World Cup wins for men and women, which is held by Ingemar Stenmark.
Due to the warm weather, the start gate was lowered for both runs which created a close race in the mid-pack.
Shiffrin’s great rival, Petra Vlhova, was second out of the start gate in the first run and set the benchmark time of 49.48.
Anna Swenn Larsson immediately went quicker by 0.32 seconds, but Shiffrin was even faster by a further 0.23 seconds.
After a flurry of leaders in the second run, Franziska Gritsch led the way with a 1:39.27 with 13 skiers to go as the course began to severely rut up.
It took a fast finish from Switzerland’s Camille Rast to snatch the lead away by 0.12 seconds, before Ana Bucik went to the top of the standings with the target time now at 1:38.78.
Wendy Holdener’s aggressive run saw her storm into first place by 0.98 seconds to put the pressure on the final five skiers.
Ali Nullmeyer straddled so couldn’t repeat her fifth place from last year in Zagreb, then a mistake from world champion Katharina Liensberger caused her to fall and ski back up the hill to go around the third to last gate.
Vlhova delivered a great performance to take the lead by 0.62 seconds but she is still waiting for her first victory of the season.
Swenn Larsson looked set to dispatch Vlhova, but a big mistake towards the end dropped her to second, which turned to third when Shiffrin completed her run with no errors.
The American had 0.55 of an advantage over Vlhova but a flawless performance saw her finish 0.76 seconds ahead to extend her lead in the overall World Cup standings and move one step closer to history.
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Stream the 2022-23 Alpine Skiing season live on Eurosport and discovery+.
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