Mikaela Shiffrin extended her own slice of skiing immortality on Sunday, charging to a dominant victory in the Stifel Copper Cup slalom to claim her 104th career FIS World Cup win – and the moment belonged as much to the man waiting for her at the bottom as it did to the champion herself.
Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, Shiffrin’s fiancé and a 21-time World Cup winner, stood in the finish area with tears streaming down his face as his partner crossed the line 1.57 seconds clear of Germany’s Lena Dürr. The Norwegian wrapped Shiffrin in a long embrace while the home crowd of 11,000 roared, many waving American flags in the crisp Colorado sunshine, erupted in celebration.
Just 72 hours earlier, Kilde had completed his own emotional comeback in the super-G on the same mountain, finishing 24th exactly 685 days after a horrific crash in Wengen that required multiple surgeries and nearly two years of rehabilitation. Shiffrin had been the one crying at the finish line then; on Sunday the roles were reversed.
“She’s unbelievable,” Kilde said, voice cracking, as he kept one arm around Shiffrin during the flower ceremony. “I’m just so proud. This whole weekend… it’s hard to put into words.”
Shiffrin, who now owns 67 slalom victories (more than any skier, male or female, in any single discipline), admitted the day carried extra weight with Kilde healthy and by her side.
“It’s been a really long road for both of us,” she said. “To have him here, racing again, smiling again… and then to share this moment together, it’s pretty special.”
The victory marks Shiffrin’s third straight slalom win to open the 2025/26 season and her sixth podium in six races since February’s record-breaking 100th triumph in Åre, Sweden. At 30 years old, she continues to pull further clear of Ingemar Stenmark’s previous all-time mark of 86 wins.
For Kilde, Sunday was another milestone in a comeback many feared might never happen. The 33-year-old former overall World Cup champion will now turn his attention to the speed events in Beaver Creek next weekend, while Shiffrin heads to Killington defending her giant slalom crown.
But for one sunny afternoon in Copper Mountain, the record books could wait. In the finish area, two of alpine skiing’s biggest stars simply held each other, tears mixing with smiles, as the sport’s most celebrated couple wrote the latest chapter in a story that now feels bigger than any single victory – even the 104th.
