Mikaela Shiffrin equals women’s WC wins record

Mikaela Shiffrin equalled the women’s record for World Cup skiing victories with the 82nd win of her career.

The American, 27, moved alongside compatriot Lindsey Vonn’s mark with victory in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia.

She finished 0,77 seconds ahead of the field in Sunday’s giant slalom to claim an eighth win of the season.

The two-time Olympic gold medallist is now only four World Cup victories short of the overall record held by Sweden’s Ingemar Stenmark.

“I was so nervous this run, I have a rash on my face because I was so nervous,” said Shiffrin, who had won five consecutive World Cup races before a sixth-placed finish in Saturday’s opening giant slalom of the weekend.

“Maybe it was because of the 82, I don’t know, I just really wanted to ski it well and I did. I can’t believe it.”

She opened a 0,24-second lead over the field with a dominant first run and stretched that further in the second to finish well ahead of Italy’s Federica Brignone, while Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami was third.

Shiffrin is the reigning overall women’s World Cup champion, with four Crystal Globe titles in her career, and comfortably leads this year’s overall standings.

Swedish legend Stenmark dominated the men’s slalom and giant slalom disciplines from 1975 up to his retirement in 1989. Shiffrin won her first World Cup race in December 2012, aged just 17. – BBC Sport.