‘Like a dream’ – Mikaela Shiffrin reacts to record-equalling World Cup win to match Ingemar Stenmark’s legendary haul

The American flew down the slopes 0.64 seconds faster than Italy’s Federico Brignone to claim her 86th World Cup win and a share of history, matching Ingemar Stenmark’s record that has stood for 34 years.

Reacting to the accomplishment, Shiffrin called it a “dream”.

“This is just a spectacular day. I just wanted to push and fight for it,” she said following the race. “I’ve had quite a few different experiences here, I have felt everything you can feel here, so it’s special to be back.

“No matter what I do, it’s never going to be actually beating [Stenmark]. The number, OK, whatever, the numbers are the numbers.

“86 has a mind of its own. I just need to take care of my skiing.

“For everybody else, it was done or inevitable. For me, it was like, it never should have happened in the first place.

“It’s like a dream. If you told me this when I was seven years old, I’d be freaking out, running around the house all night long.”

The 27-year-old sent a message to Stenmark through the camera, with the Swede having revealed he is not in Are and is watching the event on television.

“No matter what I do, it doesn’t ever compare to what you achieved,” she directed at Stenmark. “Maybe I get the 87th victory, maybe not. But for me the biggest dream is to be mentioned in the same sentence as you.”

Shiffrin can beat the record when she returns to the slopes for the slalom on Saturday. The first run is at 09:15 GMT, with Shiffrin hoping to make history in the second run from 12:15 GMT.

“Now everyone’s going to ask about 87. It’s a pretty spectacular position to be in,” she said, looking ahead to Saturday’s challenge. “I mean, we talked at the beginning of the season, like I don’t take it for granted to be in this place where people ask me about when am I going to win 86 or when I’m going to win 87.

“That’s, like, a pretty cool place to be, even though it can be difficult to focus sometimes. But today I felt like the focus was there when I needed it to be, so then it was just really fun to ski.

“And that’s how I hoped it would be.”

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