Mikaela Shiffrin Amoung the 100 Best Athletes of 21st Century
25th July 2024
Last modified on July 29th, 2024
The US skier who has the most World Cup victories, 97, of any ski racer comes in at 44th on the list compiled by ESPN.
She is a:
- Two-time Olympic Gold Medalist,
- Five-time Overall World Cup champion,
- Four-time world champion in slalom,
- Eight-time winner of the World Cup discipline Slalom title.
At 18 years and 345 days, Shiffrin is the youngest slalom gold medalist in Olympic history.
She has the most World Cup victories, 97, of any skier.
BREAKING: Mikaela Shiffrin now holds the title for the most skiing World Cup wins.
Notching her 87th victory, Shiffrin passed Swedish skiing great Ingemar Stenmark for the career record. https://t.co/15HVMDSdKS pic.twitter.com/ebZtHmHcaO
— The Associated Press (@AP) March 11, 2023
Shiffrin has won 35.3% of races she has contested.
Key accomplishments: Three-time Olympic medalist, two-time Olympic gold medalist, record 96 World Cup wins, 59 World Cup slalom victories (most in a single discipline).
On March 11, 2023, Shiffrin chased down a record that, for 34 years, consumed the minds and careers of countless ski racers and became the winningest alpine skier in history.
She won her 87th World Cup race that day, eclipsing the longstanding record held by Swedish legend Ingemar Stenmark, which many considered to be unbreakable.
She did it, of course, quickly, reaching 87 wins nearly three years quicker than Stenmark and by winning at least one race in all six World Cup disciplines — the only woman or man ever to do so.
But what’s most remarkable about Shiffrin’s feat is that she won 24 races and two of her five World Cup overall titles after skiing the most disappointing races of her career at the 2022 Beijing Olympics and having people question whether her best years were behind her.
The 100 best athletes of the 21st century, a ranking that was created 25 years ago and only concerned North American athletes but has now been extended to the whole world.
The only other snowsports athlete on the list is the snowboarder Shaun White who is at No 72.
Top Ten
1. Michael Phelps, swimming
2. Serena Williams, tennis
3. Lionel Messi, soccer
4. LeBron James, basketball
5. Tom Brady, American football
6. Roger Federer, tennis
7. Simone Biles, gymnastics
8. Tiger Woods, golf
9. Usain Bolt, track
10. Kobe Bryant, basketball
