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the-csquare t1_j5ojtqq wrote

Insanely dominant this season. Winning almost every SL and GS and then seemingly pulling out great results in speed events. And then her partner Kilde winning almost everything he's in too

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Jokobib t1_j5olyni wrote

Fastest in both the 1st and 2nd run, and casually pulling .3 seconds in the last sector to win by this margin. With seven technical events left, I think she has a decent chance to beat Stenmark's record this season (She needs four more wins).

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DannyTannersFlow t1_j5op4c3 wrote

What a story, I remember feeling so bad for her in Beijing.

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arn_g t1_j5opub3 wrote

Crazy skier. A joy to watch.

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HalftimeHeaters t1_j5ot1w6 wrote

She's worked incredibly hard for this. Keep it up kiddo

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swz t1_j5ovtm9 wrote

She’s a monster!!

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sbb618 t1_j5oyx46 wrote

And she's still only 27!

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Wonnk13 t1_j5p4fjs wrote

It's such a shame some folks will only know her from the Olympics. I remember everyone in the lift line talking about her when she was still at Burke. If she can stay healthy she has plenty more seasons to dominate.

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username7356905 t1_j5pctar wrote

I'll be extremely sad to find out her heart is not actually made of solid gold. Best skier, best person.

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RzaAndGza t1_j5ppx6l wrote

Why are there so many world cups? Shouldn't it be once a year?

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SkiThe802 t1_j5pqivt wrote

Next up is Ingemar Stenmark's record for wins at 86. There are 14 races left this season. Mikaela has proven she can win in any discipline, but GS and Slalom are her strongest and there are 7 of those left this season. My money is on her breaking the record this year.

Coming up soon on the calendar are the Slalom and GS in Are, Sweden. This place holds a very special significance. It is the site of Shiffrin's very first World Cup win, the site of Lindsey Vonn's last ever race, and in the home county of Stenmark himself. There are 8 races before Are, with 3 of them being Slalom and GS. If she wins 2 races before Are she has set herself up to be able to break the record there.

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SkiThe802 t1_j5pr50v wrote

The World Cup is what they call the highest circuit of Alpine Ski Racing. It is a full season made up of 40-50 individual races. The other major events are the Olympics (obviously, every 4 years) and the World Championships (every odd year).

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dvinpayne t1_j5pruk7 wrote

The world cup is the series, so all these races add up for points towards the world cup every year. There's also the world cup finals at the end of the year, although often the world cup itself is already decided by that point.

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zeez1011 t1_j5psgkk wrote

And most Americans won't care unless she wins a bunch of gold at the Olympics.

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marklondon66 t1_j5q2cez wrote

Sad because I loved Vonn, but Shiffrin is the greatest female slalom skier ever.

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mapoftasmania t1_j5q42a5 wrote

Whether she does it this year or not, she is destined to be the GOAT. She is still relatively young and has more seasons of competition in her.

The only thing that could stop her is injury - which is exactly what stopped Lindsey from beating Stenmark.

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Euler2-178 t1_j5q7pcx wrote

Hirscher’s retirement is one of both the biggest “what-it’s” but also one of the biggest brain plays in sports. Retired only in his 20s after winning 8 overalls in a row, at his peak having dominated the 2019 season.

Part of me wants to have seen what could have been if he had continued. But looking at how he left out on his own terms whilst completely on top, I also entirely understand it from a legacy standpoint.

Nobody will ever associate Hirscher with a slump in form, or that guy who “only” won 67 wins. He’ll always be that guy who could’ve easily gone further.

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mynameisnotshamus t1_j5q9xwj wrote

Such an amazing accomplishment so young especially. She deserves far more recognition that she’ll get

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Theoldelf t1_j5qbbd7 wrote

I read where other countries analyze her technique,in slow motion, trying to figure out how she’s consistently faster.

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colin_7 t1_j5qcz74 wrote

I always forget how young she is that’s wild. It was definitely a mental thing and probably let the pressure get to her. She was pretty much the face of the USA Olympic team last year, happy that she clearly got through it

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JordanPoohole3 t1_j5qdy9k wrote

👏 yeah the Beijing Olympics were so bizarre and probably a terrible athlete experience with the covid backdrop too. Wish everyone got a re-do 😂 Can’t imagine dealing with a loss like that then being fully locked down in a foreign place to deal with all the stress & pressure alone

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spayne1111 t1_j5qgz2v wrote

I want wonder self absorbed PR campaign LV will go on this week to keep herself relevant in the media while her record gets crushed.

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stanley604 t1_j5qm0yu wrote

Pardon this blatant public reminiscence of an oldbie, but I stood yards from a giant slalom gate near the top of the Whiteface GS course in the 1980 Winter Olympics, and watched Ingemar Stenmark carve the gate with seemingly effortless grace -- you could see he was so much smoother and faster -- even to the naked eye it was obvious.

I haven't watched much ski racing lately, but I hear Shiffrin compared to Stenmark in terms of smoothness, so I'm really happy for her success.

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WedgeTurn t1_j5qrq2t wrote

> she is destined to be the GOAT

Honestly, she already is. Stenmark was absolutely phenomenal, but he also had less competition that Shiffrin, the sport was less refined and not every talented skier received the amount of support they needed to succeed. Today, there is much more competition and more pressure on the athletes and with that in mind, Mikaela's feat is absolutely insane.

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CryptoTecno t1_j5qtf0j wrote

Lovely article and well deserved for Mikaela!

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BeesForDays t1_j5qxdq8 wrote

It’s skiing, got it. Thought it was soccer until reading the article 🤡

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FnEddieDingle t1_j5r5sqo wrote

Erich Sailer rolling I've tin his grave and he isnt even dead

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Jirkajua t1_j5r6j0p wrote

I remember my dad telling me 7 years ago that this young american is wrecking everyone else. I thought that's gonna be a one hit wonder but man did she exceed all of my expectations - Mika is just insane honestly.

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MickIAC t1_j5rb8z3 wrote

Her dad died two years before the Olympics. She ducked out of the end of the 2019-2020 due to the grief.

Shiffrin just had comically-turned-tragically bad luck in Beijing. Shame because she's the absolute GOAT.

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Zeeky47 t1_j5ro6cv wrote

Is that why she was off her ass during those events? I actually had no idea and was watching like “what in the world is throwing her off?” Must’ve missed it, assuming there was a bajillion mentions and I just wasn’t paying attention

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_baddad t1_j5rqaxd wrote

Saw a “stat” that Stenmark won his final race at 32, Vonn at 33. Mikaela’s only 27. The consistency she’s started to show in speed events (6 top 10s in 6 starts this season, including a win) makes her a bigger threat in those events than ever! Super excited to continue to watch her!

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_baddad t1_j5rqvqa wrote

Smoothness and just ease. She looks like she’s not even trying. She’s had so many incredible saves too that would have cost other skiers seconds potentially and still won.

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omdagbar t1_j5tog1a wrote

It’s a real shame the majority of WC races aren’t broadcast on US television. It makes it virtually impossible for casual fans to enjoy this historic season. I think US fans would care much more if it were more accessible to watch the races.

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throwaway77993344 t1_j5wg3lu wrote

I have no doubt that if she decided to focus on speed events she'd also dominate there. She consistently finishes top 10 in speed events with very limited training and consistently races top part-times. Just crazy.

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