Mikaela Shiffrin vs Lindsey Vonn: Which American skier is more successful?

Mikaela Shiffrin and Lindsey Vonn, two of Team USA's top Alpine skiers, have a total of 82 World Cup victories each.

While Vonn was 33 years and 156 days old (in 395 starts) when she claimed her final World Cup victory, Shiffrin accomplished the milestone at 27 years and 25 days (after 233 races).

Since Lindsey Vonn had 19 years of great record-breaking races, she has set the bar for perfection. However, Mikaela Shiffrin is coming up quickly and still has time to develop and break many more records.

Shiffrin and Vonn now share the record for most World Cup victories, but Shiffrin might break it as soon as possible to dethrone her fellow American as the most successful ski racer ever.

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Mikaela Shiffrin vs Lindsey Vonn

Due to the numerous catastrophic injuries she suffered over her career, Lindsey Vonn retired at the age of 34 in 2019 after competing since she was 16 in 2000. Although she has won many other races, Vonn's downhill success was primarily what set her apart.

Mikaela Shiffrin competed in her first race in 2011 when she was 15 years old. At the age of 27, she is still a fierce competitor. Shiffrin's main event is the slalom, although she has also triumphed in every other competition.

Vonn at the 2018 FIS World Ski Championships - Women's Downhill

Lindsey Vonn has participated in the Olympic Games four times, in 2002, 2006, 2010, and 2018. Due to injuries, she did not participate in 2014. In 2010, she won Gold in the downhill and super G events, and in 2018, she won Bronze in the downhill.

In 2014, Mikaela Shiffrin won gold in the slalom event in her debut Olympics. In 2018, she earned gold in the combined event and silver in the giant slalom. In at least three of her six events at the 2022 Winter Olympics,

Shiffrin was projected to win the gold medal. She surprisingly earned DNFs (Did Not Finish) in the slalom and giant slalom and regrettably failed to medal in her subsequent races as well.

At the time of her retirement, Lindsey Vonn had amassed 82 career victories in World Cup competitions, falling to only four fewer than Ingemar Stenmark's final record of 86 victories.

Before she retired, Vonn wanted to beat Stenmark's record, but she was obliged to quit defying her body and start listening tending to it instead. Eight medals have been earned by Vonn at the World Championships, including two golds in the downhill and super G events in 2009.

Shiffrin at the 2023 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup

Since then, Mikaela Shiffrin has won 82 World Cup races, tying Vonn for the most World Cup victories by a female alpine skier—a record she is soon to break. She has now won 51 World Cup slalom events, maintaining the record for the most slalom victories of any athlete.

At the 2010 Olympics, Lindsey Vonn became the first American woman to take home a gold medal in a downhill skiing competition. Vonn is also one of just two women to have won four total World Cup championships.

Vonn shares the record with Shiffrin as the ski racer with the second-most World Cup victories, just behind Ingemar Stenmark with 86. Her aggressive skiing style, which sets her apart from other racers but has also made her more prone to injuries, has long been regarded as the most successful ski racer.

Mikaela Shiffrin was the youngest racer to ever win 50 World Cup races and has won 82 of them in the nine years that she has been participating. She holds the record for the most slalom victories of any athlete and is the only athlete in history to have triumphed in all six ski racing competitions.

Shiffrin and Vonn at the 2018 Alpine Skiing - Winter Olympics

In the PyeongChang 2018 giant slalom competition, Mikaela Shiffrin won gold and Lindsey Vonn skied out for the second run. In the Super G at the Are 2019 Worlds, the two international legends faced off against one another where Shiffrin gold, Vonn DNF.

Throughout their careers, both skiers have represented the Vail Ski Club, yet they have only ever stood on the same World Cup podium once. On January 19, 2018, at the downhill competition in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Vonn came in second place behind Sofia Goggia, with Shiffrin taking third.

Shiffrin competed against Vonn until 2019, when the Vancouver 2010 Olympic gold medalist retired at the end of the season, after making her World Cup debut in 2011.