Mikaela Shiffrin is officially one of the most decorated American skiers in the history of the sport. On Sunday, Shiffrin won the women's combined to set a United States record with her sixth world championship title at Cortina d'Ampezzo. In addition, it was Shiffrin's record-breaking ninth overall medal in the world championships.
She previously was tied for that overall medal world record with legendary American skier Lindsey Vonn and with the win passed Red Ligety for most world championships by an American.
"It was a really nice day, beautiful weather and really great tracks on both events," Shiffrin told EuroSport. "It's sometimes intimidating to go on that surface, it's like going into battle. You have to get yourself psyched up and give your very best skiing to be fast and even get to the finish."
Must-see skiing. @MikaelaShiffrin ➡️ the most decorated American skier in world champs history. #Cortina2021 pic.twitter.com/nDXdfvK4vP
— Team USA (@TeamUSA) February 15, 2021
Shiffrin was in third place after the super-G event, but was the fastest in the slalom event to catapult her past Slovenian Petra Vlhova by 0.86 seconds. Switzerland's Michelle Gisin finished 0.89 seconds behind Shiffrin to earn the bronze medal in the world championships.
In the process of making history, Shiffrin also became the first American winner of the women's combined since Tamara McKinney was victorious at the world championships in 1989. Shiffrin also won four gold medals in the slalom event while also earning one gold medal in super-G in the previous world championships.
