LEVI, Finland — American Mikaela Shiffrin earned her record-extending 98th career World Cup win Saturday to give herself the chance to compete for victory No. 100 in front of a home crowd.
Regardless of her result in a slalom in Austria next week, Shiffrin could reach the milestone in two races in Killington, Vermont, on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1.
The two-time Olympic champion, who is from Colorado, can almost consider Killington a hometown race because she honed her skills nearby at the Burke Mountain Academy as a teenager.
On Saturday, Shiffrin dominated the first women’s World Cup slalom of the season for her 98th win. No other skier, male or female, has won more than 86 races.
“Amazing way to start the slalom season. I’m super happy,” Shiffrin said.
Shiffrin built on a big first-run lead with an aggressive yet controlled second run down the Levi Black course to beat 2021 slalom world champion Katharina Liensberger of Austria by 0.79 seconds.
Lena Duerr of Germany dropped from second to third, 0.83 behind Shiffrin, and was the last skier to finish less than a second off the lead.
Croatian prodigy Zrinka Ljutic, who was third after the opening run, lost three spots.
Olympic champion Petra Vlhova, Shiffrin’s biggest rival in slalom, sat out the race…
