Mikaela Shiffrin just etched her name deeper into skiing immortality. In an emotional moment after dominating the final slalom before the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympics, the American superstar clinched a record-breaking ninth World Cup slalom season title — the first skier ever to achieve nine Crystal Globes in a single discipline over the competition’s 60-year history.
“I have no words for it at the moment,” Shiffrin told SRF with a beaming smile post-race, capturing the sheer disbelief and joy of the milestone. The quote quickly went viral as fans and commentators marveled at her unmatched dominance.
Shiffrin crushed both runs on the very slope where she made her World Cup debut at age 15 back in 2011, finishing 1.67 seconds ahead of Switzerland’s world champion Camille Rast in second place. Germany’s Emma Aicher took third, but the gap to the rest of the field stretched beyond two seconds as Shiffrin powered to her seventh slalom win of the season out of eight races.
With an unassailable 288-point lead and two post-Olympic slaloms still on the calendar, the title was mathematically sealed — extending her all-time records to 71 career slalom victories and 108 overall World Cup wins (both tops for men and women combined).
The victory builds on her giant slalom podium breakthrough the day before — her first in two years — sending her into the Olympics as a technical events powerhouse in slalom, giant slalom, and team combined.
Reflecting on the full-circle moment at her debut venue, Shiffrin said she still feels like that wide-eyed 15-year-old: “I just love skiing. That’s the best feeling to be here.” She admitted the record wasn’t front-of-mind during the intense race — “It’s actually hard to think about that today” — but called it a “nice surprise” afterward.
Pushing boundaries remains her fuel: “In slalom, I’m right up against the ceiling… With GS, I feel that there is still room to grow.” As the World Cup heads to speed events in Crans-Montana next weekend before the Games, Shiffrin heads to Milan Cortina riding an unstoppable wave — speechless, record-shattering, and ready for more Olympic magic.
