By GEORGE FJELD
KILLINGTON- Mikaela “Miki” Shiffrin raced to perfection to win her 90th World Cup race, 55 of them in slalom. After placing third in the giant slalom race on Saturday, Shiffrin blazed to glory by winning both runs over second-place winner Petra Vlhova of Slovakia. Switzerland’s Wendy Holdener finished third. “I’m super, super excited, being able to come back and conquer the hill,” Shiffrin said to a live television audience of 2 million. She finished fifth last year. Now she has won 6 out of the seven World Cup slalom races held at Killington. Killington is the only stop for the women’s alpine ski racing in the United States. Remarkably, it is also the best attended, meaning biggest crowds for women anywhere in the world. 20,000 people watched the races live in Killington this year.
Shiffrin is the GOAT (greatest of all time) in alpine skiing, winning more races (90) than any other athlete in history. She surpassed the great Swede Ingemar Stenmark (86) last year. She continues to set records with her amazing skiing, winning over 35% of her starts in World Cup races. Shiffrin was one day short of 16 when she raced in the World Cup for the first time and, barring injury, will continue to set records for years to come. Being able to see her race here in Vermont is truly a tremendous experience. Miki has strong ties to Vermont, graduating from Burke Mountain Academy in 2013. She plans on returning next year.
