Favorite skier Mikaela Shiffrin secured her 98th Alpine Ski World Cup victory today in Levi, winning the season's first Slalom event. Of her impressive 98 World Cup victories, 61 have come in Slalom.
Shiffrin was once again in a class of her own in the Finnish ski resort. In Petra Vlhova's absence, the American achieved her eighth win in Levi. Since 2016, all 13 women's Slalom World Cup races in the Finnish ski resort have been won by Mikaela Shiffrin or Petra Vhlová.
Shiffrin masterfully skied the second run, after setting the best time in the first run, to finish +0.79 seconds ahead of Katharina Liensberger. The Austrian, who worked her way up from 4th to 2nd place, was able to secure a podium finish, just like a year ago. Lena Dürr finished in third place, 0.83 seconds behind, and achieved her fourth World Cup podium in Levi.
Shiffrin's eight Slalom victories in Levi (2013, 2016, 2018, 2019, twice in 2022, 2023, and 2024) is a new record for the number of victories in this discipline at one specific venue. Only Lindsey Vonn (14 Downhill in Lake Louise) has recorded more than seven World Cup wins in a specific event at a single resort among Women's skiers.
Shiffrin has only finished off the podium three times in her 16 Slalom World Cup appearances in Levi.
Mikaela Shiffrin is now only two wins away from her 100th Alpine Ski World Cup triumph. Mikaela Shiffrin has claimed 98 career World Cup wins across six disciplines (Slalom, Giant Slalom, Parallel Slalom, Alpine Combined, Super-G, and Downhill). In 2019, with her first Super-G win at Lake Louise, she became the first Skier in FIS Alpine Ski World Cup history to win in all six disciplines.
In Levi in 2019, Mikaela surpassed Ingemar Stenmark's record of 40 slalom wins, making her the winningest Slalom skier of all time.
"It was a bit bumpy, and I found myself getting twisted at times, but I kept fighting. The tempo wasn't perfect, but I managed to pull off several really good turns, which made it all come together. In the end, it was a solid run given the challenging conditions. This is an amazing way to kick off the slalom season, and I am really happy," Shiffrin stated.
"The most important thing is that starting this weekend, I will be racing every weekend until the World Cup finals. It's going to be a busy time, so it will be a big push," she added.
Levi is a special place for Katharina Liensberger. Today she claimed her fourth podium finish in the Finish ski resort.
"It's brilliant to ski here in Levi. It's wonderful that everything worked out so well for me. It was the first race of the season and it was not easy. The track was a little bit bumpy, but I felt good. I just wanted to go fast, it’s amazing to be here. I’m really looking forward to the next races. It was super fun," Liensberger said.
With a third place in the first slalom of the winter, on her favorite slope, Lena Dürr had a perfect start to the season.
"The race was super fun, as always here. The last years at Levi were super nice for me, and today I finished again on the podium. I’m looking forward to the next weeks, they will be stressful but fun," Dürr said.
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