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Mikaela Shiffrin‘s attempt at a record-extending 100th career World Cup win has been put on hold after she crashed during a giant slalom race in Killington, Vermont, where she was in position to reach the milestone.
Shiffrin had the fastest first run and looked to be headed for a sure victory but, with the finish line in sight, she caught an edge that sent one ski flying as she tumbled and crashed into the safety netting.
The two-time Olympic gold medallist remained down for several minutes before being transported off the hill on a rescue sled and to a medical clinic where she was evaluated.
“Not really too much cause for concern at this point, I just can’t move. I have a pretty good abrasion and something stabbed me,” Shiffrin, who had a 0.32-second advantage over Sweden’s Sara Hector after the first run, said in a video posted on X.
“I just can’t move. I am so sorry to scare everybody and it looks like all scans so far are clear, so thank you for the support and concern.”
Shiffrin added that she would be cheering on the slalom event on Sunday from the sidelines rather than taking another swing at her 100th win. Shiffrin has won the slalom at Killington in six of the seven years it has been held there.
Reigning Olympic giant slalom champion Hector went on to win the giant slalom race with a combined time of one minute 53.08 seconds to beat Croatia’s Zrinka Ljutic by 0.54 seconds. Switzerland’s Camille Rast was third.
“It’s so sad of course for Mikaela, a crash like that after she was skiing so well. It breaks my heart,” said Hector.
Shiffrin missed six weeks after injuring her knee in a high-speed crash in January while competing in a World Cup downhill in Cortina d’Ampezzo. In October she said she would drop the discipline from her schedule for this season.
Since returning from injury in March, Shiffrin has shown no signs of rust. She closed last season with a pair of slalom wins before adding another two to her haul this month.
The 29-year-old Shiffrin began the season needing three wins to reach the century mark on the World Cup circuit and set herself up to accomplish the feat on home snow with back-to-back slalom victories in Finland and Austria over the last two weeks.
She established herself as the most successful Alpine skier in World Cup history, male or female, when she topped retired Swedish great Ingemar Stenmark’s decades-old record of 86 World Cup victories in March 2023.
The closest woman on the all-time list is Lindsey Vonn with 82.
Reuters
