Mikaela Shiffrin is just one win away from tying Ingemar Stenmark’s record in the World Cup.
Now the superstar reveals the Swedish icon’s amazing gesture.
– I just become like this… “Doesn’t he understand who he is!?”, she says.
Many thought that Ingemar Stenmark’s incredible record of 86 World Cup victories would be impossible to beat. But the American superstar Mikaela Shiffrin has completely dominated the alpine for many years, and is now only a measly profit away from touching the Swede’s iconic record.
Stenmark’s nice gesture
Shiffrin and Stenmark have talked about whether the record is possible to break many times, and Ingemar Stenmark has always been encouraging and supportive. And not just in the media. He has also reached out privately to give his full support to Shiffrin in pursuit of the record. She reveals that in an interview with NRK.
Shiffrin says that Stenis got in touch and sent a video privately to the star, in an absolutely fantastic gesture.
– He sent me a video where he talks about me being able to beat the record. I just like this: “Doesn’t he understand who he is!?”. That’s the funniest thing, he’s Ingemar Stenmark! He is the alpine sport itself and he doesn’t even know it himself. Perhaps that is the point. That mentality is what made him who he is, she says.
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Huge tribute
Shiffrin says it’s hard for her not to think about how close she is to breaking the record, given how the media is behaving around her.
– It’s totally sick. Whether it’s in an interview or if someone sees me on the street, people talk about the record. I’m not there yet. Okay, I’m one win away from being tied with Stenmark and it doesn’t seem like much. But it is a victory that must come. Winning a World Cup competition is not easy, so it is not easy to just make it happen, she says.
However, Shiffrin is grateful for the support she received from Stenmark. The Swede has said that Shiffrin is a better and more complete skater than he has.
– I feel the same about him. Regardless of what I manage to do, Ingemar Stenmark is synonymous with alpine. What he did in his career sets the standard for us all. For all generations! It’s just incredible, and yes, people might think about me, but they’ll think about him longer. He’s the only one people want to think about and I feel like it doesn’t matter if I win 87 races or not. Because he is always at the top of the pyramid for me.
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