While Mikaela Shiffrin continued her march towards greatness with a Super G win in Cortina on Sunday -- her 54th career World Cup win -- Lindsey Vonn failed to finish what is likely to be her last competitive outing on the Italian course.
Vonn, the greatest female skier in history with 82 career victories, needs five more wins on the World Cup circuit to beat Ingemar Stenmark's record of 86, but with plans to retire in December she may run out of races.
The 34-year-old told CNN Sport last week she expected Shiffrin, who has won 11 times this season and is third on the women's all-time list, to "break many records."
Should Shiffrin continue her current dominance of women's skiing, the 23-year-old will likely reach the top of the all-time list while still in her 20s. But the most immediate record on Shiffrin's radar will be Vreni Schneiter's for most wins in a season. The Swiss won 14 times in the 1988-89 season.
The American finished in 1:22.48 in Italy to secure her third Super G win of the season, while Lichtenstein's Tina Weirather (+ 0.16) was second and Austria's Tamara Tippler (+ 0.18) third.
Shiffrin enjoys a commanding lead in the overall standings, 496 points ahead of her nearest challenger, Slovakia's Petra Vlhova, and is on course for a third straight World Cup overall crown.
The two-time Olympic gold medalist will be the hot favorite to clinch a fourth straight slalom world title at the World Championships in Are, Sweden, next month.
For Vonn, embarking on her farewell season with injuries having taken a toll on her body, it was a weekend where she made her comeback from injury by racing with braces on both knees.
Though it was a Sunday to forget for the skier with a record 12 wins Cortina, she was in podium contention until midway where she clipped a gate and veered off course. She finished 15th and ninth in the downhills on Friday and Saturday.
No comments:
Post a Comment