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Shiffrin collects her American record 12th medal at world championships in Meribel, France
Mikaela Shiffrin of Edwards extended her American record to 12 world championship medals on Wednesday with a silver in super-G in Meribel, France.
Marta Bassino of Italy won the gold medal in the speed event that is not Shiffrin’s strength. Shiffrin will have at least two more chances at medals with her specialty slalom and giant slalom still on the calendar at these worlds.
“I’m so happy with my run, and emotional, because I don’t really feel like I should be winning a medal in super-G right now. There are so many women so strong and so fast,” Shiffrin said, according to the Associated Press. “There was one moment where I thought I lost everything but then I could keep it rolling until the finish.”
More from the AP: “The silver is Shiffrin’s 12th medal in 15 career world championship races and came two days after the American was heading for a possible medal in the combined event before straddling the third-to-last gate in the slalom portion. Federica Brignone won that race.”
Christi Cranz of Germany holds the all-time record for the most world championship medals with 15 (12 gold), but they were all earned when the worlds were every year in the 1930s.
A better comparison for Shiffrin is Marielle Goitschel of France, a racer in the 60s who earned 11 (7 gold) medals, or Anja Pärson of Sweden, who raced in the late 90s and 2000s when she won 11 world championship medals, 7 of them gold.
Shiffrin just broke that tie with her 12th medal, six of them gold (including slalom gold on her home mountain at the 2015 World Championships in Beaver Creek). The worlds are now every two years between Winter Olympics, which is how it’s been since 1985.
It seems almost certain — barring injury or retirement — that Shiffrin will win at least four more world championship medals overall and at least two more golds in the coming years, which would make her the all-time greatest female ski racer in the history of the modern world championships.
Shiffrin’s next shot will be on Feb. 16 in the women’s GS, followed two days later by the slalom.
David O. Williams
