American skiing superstar Mikaela Shiffrin kicked off the 2025-26 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup season in dominant fashion on Saturday, November 15, winning the women’s slalom in Levi and securing her historic 102nd career World Cup victory.
The two-time Olympic champion posted a blistering first-run time of 56.08 seconds, building a commanding 1.66-second advantage heading into the final run. She sealed the win with a combined time of 1:48.92, finishing comfortably ahead of Italy’s Lara Colturi in second and Germany’s Emma Aicher in third.
The victory marked Shiffrin’s third consecutive triumph on the notoriously technical Levi Black slope and her fifth win in the last six editions of the race — further cementing her mastery of one of the most challenging courses on the tour.
In keeping with Levi’s beloved tradition, Shiffrin was awarded a live reindeer as part of her prize. The 30-year-old chose the heartfelt name “Winkie” for her ninth reindeer, honoring her mother Eileen Shiffrin’s childhood nickname.
Eileen Shiffrin, who has been a constant presence and coach throughout her daughter’s career, was visibly moved by the performance and the tribute. Sharing a video of Mikaela’s winning run on social media, she wrote:
“This one, takes my breath away.”
Shiffrin’s previous reindeer from Levi victories have been named Rudolph, Sven, Mr. Gru, Ingemar (after Swedish legend Ingemar Stenmark), Sunny, Lorax, Grogu, and Rori.
With 102 World Cup wins, Shiffrin now stands alone as the most successful alpine skier — male or female — in history, having surpassed Stenmark’s long-standing record of 86 victories in 2023.
The Levi triumph provides the perfect start to a season in which Shiffrin is chasing yet another overall Crystal Globe and aiming to add to her Olympic medal haul of two golds and one silver.
