Mikaela Shiffrin on course for historic World Cup victory in Killington

The American skier Mikaela Shiffrin is on the verge of celebrating her 100th World Cup victory after achieving the fastest time in the giant slalom first run in Killington, Vermont. With a top time of 55.78 seconds, she secured a lead of 0.32 seconds ahead of Sweden's Sara Hector. Norway's Thea Louise Stjernesund is in third place, trailing by 0.61 seconds. The second and decisive run of the giant slalom begins at 7 PM Central European Time. Even if Shiffrin does not reach her goal on Saturday evening, she still has the slalom on Sunday, a discipline in which she has triumphed six times in the past seven years in Killington. At 29 years of age, Shiffrin started the season with the goal of breaking the magical mark of 100 World Cup victories with just three wins. After her recent successes in the slalom in Finland and Austria, the achievement of this goal seems within reach. As early as March 2023, Shiffrin had surpassed the previous record held by Ingemar Stenmark, who had 86 World Cup victories, establishing herself as the most successful alpine skier in history. Lindsey Vonn follows on the all-time list with 82 victories as the second-best woman.