OT:Shiffrin finishes season with another victory in GS

[johnmpsu]

She closes out the season with another victory in GS and clinches the World Cup title. She only needed to finish in the top 15 and she went out in style. She won 4 titles this year, Slalom, GS, Super G, and the overall title. Awesome season and she's only 24. The only thing that could stop her was the season ending. Hopefully the US discovers this amazing athlete some day. Here's the Vail daily story which also summarizes the amazing year she had.
https://www.vaildaily.com/news/vail...lnRVSCB_SyCogDYIZLa5QOELbur-9bbH_XojahhKyjyYQ

 

[Cold Smoke]

She closes out the season with another victory in GS and clinches the World Cup title. She only needed to finish in the top 15 and she went out in style. She won 4 titles this year, Slalom, GS, Super G, and the overall title. Awesome season and she's only 24. The only thing that could stop her was the season ending. Hopefully the US discovers this amazing athlete some day. Here's the Vail daily story which also summarizes the amazing year she had.
https://www.vaildaily.com/news/vail...lnRVSCB_SyCogDYIZLa5QOELbur-9bbH_XojahhKyjyYQ

Thanks for posting these results John. Really love to see her speculate on what sets her so far apart from other ski racers. Very nervous, pre race. Maybe she uses that to focus in some strange way. Too bad this year has to end.

 

[PSUcup1]

To those more knowledgeable on this ... is she basically on her way to becoming the greatest of all time?

 

[Chickenman Testa]

To those more knowledgeable on this ... is she basically on her way to becoming the greatest of all time?

Think of her as Gretzky at his peak - not just breaking records but on his way to shattering them. Ingemar Stenmark has the alltime wins record of 86 and this has stood for 30 years. He was a much more limited skier than Mikaela who is branching out into the speed events. She has 59/60 wins and she only just turned 24.

 

[massimoManca II]

Think of her as Gretzky at his peak - not just breaking records but on his way to shattering them. Ingemar Stenmark has the alltime wins record of 86 and this has stood for 30 years. He was a much more limited skier than Mikaela who is branching out into the speed events. She has 59/60 wins and she only just turned 24.

Ingemar Stenmark competed in a totally different era where fewer disciplines existed. Stenmark ran only Slalom and Giant Slalom (pretty sure there was no such thing as a Super-G when he was competing WC, and i don’t ever recall him running a Downhill) so, regardless, his numbers will always stand as a benchmark

Don’t get me wrong - I love Shiffrin, and she will likely become known as the greatest WC competitor ever, as she’s also racking up wins in SuperG and Combined ( and she’s running Downhill - which Stenmark did not) ...

As such, in some respects it is kinda like how NCAA career records are falling because teams are playing 14 games a year now, and bowl-results are counting...

 

[Chickenman Testa]

Ingemar Stenmark competed in a totally different era where fewer disciplines existed. Stenmark ran only Slalom and Giant Slalom (pretty sure there was no such thing as a Super-G when he was competing WC, and i don’t ever recall him running a Downhill) so, regardless, his numbers will always stand as a benchmark

Don’t get me wrong - I love Shiffrin, and she will likely become known as the greatest WC competitor ever, as she’s also racking up wins in SuperG and Combined ( and she’s running Downhill - which Stenmark did not) ...

As such, in some respects it is kinda like how NCAA career records are falling because teams are playing 14 games a year now, and bowl-results are counting...

Super G started in 1983 - Stenmark was on the circuit until 1989. She has 50 GS and SL wins already if we’re going to limit her. 86 is not far away just counting the technical events.

Spreading out among the disciplines is much harder as you take away training time from the others. Those skiers who have World Cup wins in all the disciplines - and there are only a few - are truly remarkable.

 

[johnmpsu]

Thanks for posting these results John. Really love to see her speculate on what sets her so far apart from other ski racers. Very nervous, pre race. Maybe she uses that to focus in some strange way. Too bad this year has to end.

If you really want to get a sense of what it takes to get where she is, this New Yorker article is pretty good. A bit to long but it's the New Yorker. Her mother/coach was quite the task master. A guy I know who used to work in the shop they frequented told me that whenever Mom called nobody wanted to take the call. Mikaela is amazing.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/11/27/mikaela-shiffrin-the-best-slalom-skier-in-the-world

 

[johnmpsu]

To those more knowledgeable on this ... is she basically on her way to becoming the greatest of all time?

Probably, so long as she avoids injury she may blow away Stenmark's 86 wins. She probably would be smart to stay away from downhill but she probably won't. It's also very hard to compare people from different eras and different disciplines. Suffice it to say there is nobody like her now with the exception of Marcel Hirscher who has been exceptional on the men's side. I read that he might be retiring

 

[TheGLOV]

She closes out the season with another victory in GS and clinches the World Cup title. She only needed to finish in the top 15 and she went out in style. She won 4 titles this year, Slalom, GS, Super G, and the overall title. Awesome season and she's only 24. The only thing that could stop her was the season ending. Hopefully the US discovers this amazing athlete some day. Here's the Vail daily story which also summarizes the amazing year she had.
https://www.vaildaily.com/news/vail...lnRVSCB_SyCogDYIZLa5QOELbur-9bbH_XojahhKyjyYQ

I watched it!!

And I loved it!

Vonn beGONE!!!

 

[johnmpsu]

I watched it!!

And I loved it!

Vonn beGONE!!!

Give it a rest. Have you ever even met Lindsey Vonn? I doubt it.

 

[TheGLOV]

Give it a rest. Have you ever even met Lindsey Vonn? I doubt it.

No and no.

I also just said that to get a RISE out of you.

It worked.