American skier Shiffrin equals Ingemar Stenmark record for wins in single discipline

Mikaela Shiffrin marked the return of the women's World Cup to North America by setting yet another record, and the two-time Olympic champion did it Sunday on home snow.

Shiffrin beat Petra Vlhova, her main rival, in a two-run time of one minute 38.33 seconds for her 46th career win in slalom. That matched a 32-year-old record for most World Cup wins in a single discipline, set by Swedish great Ingemar Stenmark in giant slalom.

"It was a big fight today," Shiffrin, who finished second to Vlhova in both slalom races last week in Finland, said through tears.

"I'm quite happy with how I skied the second [run] and a small mistake, not as big as Petra's mistake, but just starting to bring back the fight and it means even more to do it in the second run."

While the 26-year-old Shiffrin hails from Vail, Colorado, she can almost consider Killington, Vt., a hometown race as she honed her skills nearby at the Burke Mountain Academy as a teenager.

WATCH | Shiffrin pads World Cup lead with Killington win:

Mikaela Shiffrin matches single discipline wins record with slalom World Cup victory

3 years ago

Duration 7:31

American Olympian Mikaela Shiffrin placed 1st in the women's slalom run at the FIS Alpine World Cup in Killington, Vermont. Her 46th career slalom win equals Ingemar Stenmark's 32-year-old record for most victories in a single discipline.

Shiffrin trailed Vlhova (1:39.08) by 20-100ths of a second after the first run and, although she made an error at the top of her second run, a fantastic finish ensured she was still fastest on that second run.

Costly mistake

Shiffrin lifted her arms over her head to soak in the cheers of the passionate home crowd before cupping her hand to her ear as she beamed broadly.

Then she turned to watch her rival.

Vlhova also made a mistake, and that cost her even more dearly than Shiffrin's. The overall champion was almost a second slower than Shiffrin on the second run to ultimately finish 75-100ths of a second behind in second place.

Shiffrin, who had won all four previous World Cup slalom races in Killington, was in tears. Last year's event was cancelled because of the pandemic.

Wendy Holdener of Switzerland finished third, 83-100ths behind Shiffrin.

Shiffrin moved 20 points ahead of Vlhova at the top of the overall World Cup standings.

Laurence St-Germain of Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges was top Canadian in 13th (1:41.11) while Erin Mielzynski of Collingwood, Ont., was 20th of 28 finishers in 1:41.84.

Amelia Smart of Invermere, B.C., and Toronto's Ali Nullmeyer didn't qualify for the second run, and Roni Remme of Collingwood was disqualified in the opening run.