Mikaela Shiffrin wins World Cup super-G season crown

CNN  — 

In a season of superlatives and shattered records, Mikaela Shiffrin has added the super-G World Cup crown to the overall and slalom titles.

The American, who turned 24 on Wednesday, clinched the super-G Crystal Globe at the World Cup finals in Soldeu, Andorra to cement her growing status as one of the sport’s greats.

She finished tied fourth with 2019 World Cup downhill champion Nicole Schmidhofer in Andorra, 0.44 seconds behind winner Viktoria Rebensburg of Germany.

Shiffrin is also hot favorite to clinch the giant slalom crystal globe Sunday in Andorra, with a 97-point lead over nearest rival Petra Vlhova of Slovakia.

Traditionally a technical specialist, she could become the first skier – male or female – to win the World Cup title in overall, slalom, giant slalom and the faster super-G discipline in the same season.

“This is a cool day,” she told Eurosport in the finish area in Soldeu.

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ARE, SWEDEN - FEBRUARY 5: Mikaela Shiffrin of USA wins the gold medal during the FIS World Ski Championships Women's Super G on February 5, 2019 in Are Sweden. (Photo by Alain Grosclaude/Agence Zoom/Getty Images)
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Shiffrin had never won a World Cup super-G before this season, but three victories coupled with some races canceled for bad weather handed her a shot at the crown in Soldeu.

“I dreamed about someday maybe being able to win a globe in super-G but I wasn’t really expecting it this season,” she added.

“The way I’ve been skiing super-G all season, I didn’t know if it would be enough to win [today], I knew I would have to be aggressive and it worked out just enough.

“I have to thank everyone, all the speed coaches came to help me have this possibility. The way everyone came together to make this work was amazing and we’re all so proud.”

Shiffrin recently set a new record – for men or women – of 15 wins in a World Cup season to beat the mark she shared with Swiss great Vreni Schneider.

Her phenomenal performances this season have taken her to 58 World Cup wins overall – fifth on the all-time list – three straight World Cup overall titles, six slalom crowns in seven years and four consecutive slalom world titles.

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KITZBUEHEL, AUSTRIA - JANUARY 25 : Beat Feuz of Switzerland competes during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Men's Downhill on January 25, 2019 in Kitzbuehel Austria. (Photo by Christophe Pallot/Agence Zoom/Getty Images)
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‘On the limit’

On the men’s circuit, Italian Dominik Paris triumphed in the super-G in Andorra to win a six-way battle for the Crystal Globe, his first in any discipline.

Paris, who was second in the season downhill standings behind Swiss Beat Feuz, won the super-G world title in Sweden last month and scored three World Cup super-G wins to hold off Austria’s Vincent Kriechmayr and Swiss Mauro Caviezel in the race for the crown.

“It’s a dream come true,” Paris told Eurosport. “A lot of hard work and I pushed always.”

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Needing to finish in the top 15 in Soldeu to secure the title, the 29-year-old admitted he was feeling the pressure at the start.

“I tried to focus on the course and on skiing but it was hard, I was more nervous than normal but I tried to flush that out and bring everything on the limit trying to win the race,” added Paris, who won a third Kitzbuhel title among four downhill wins this season.

“I was very on the limit but I got to the finish. I’m so happy.”