Mikaela Shiffrin just parked the entire team in Lapland. The American ski queen claimed her ninth Levi slalom victory on Saturday, earning her ninth live reindeer and pushing her career World Cup win total to a record 102.
The 30-year-old dominated the season opener with a two-run time of 1:48.92, finishing 1.66 seconds ahead of 19-year-old Albanian phenom Lara Colturi (2nd) and Germany’s Emma Aicher (3rd). But the real prize? Another four-legged teammate for her growing Arctic herd.
“I haven’t named him yet,” Shiffrin said on the podium, grinning as the young buck sniffed her glove. “I like to see their personality first.”
Her reindeer collection—now Rudolph, Sven, Mr. Gru, Ingemar, Sunny, Lorax, Grogu, Rori, and #9—lives on a farm near Levi, a tradition that began in 2004. Shiffrin has won 9 of the last 15 women’s slaloms here. No one else is close.
