Mikaela Shiffrin enters Olympic sports weekend with history firmly within reach as she prepares for the final Alpine skiing World Cup stop of 2025 in Semmering, Austria.
Competing in both the giant slalom and slalom on Saturday and Sunday, the American star brings arguably the most dominant stretch of slalom skiing the sport has ever seen.
Shiffrin has won her last five World Cup slalom races dating back to last season, each by margins exceeding one second.
That level of dominance is unprecedented, as no skier — male or female — had previously won more than three consecutive World Cup slaloms by over a second. A victory in Semmering would further cement her place in alpine skiing history.
Semmering has also been a favorable venue for Mikaela Shiffrin. She has won seven of her last nine starts there across giant slalom and slalom, although her most recent appearance at the Austrian course came in December 2022.
Giant slalom progress continues after injury setback
The weekend begins with the giant slalom, a discipline where Mikaela Shiffrin continues to build momentum following a November 2024 crash that sidelined her for two months.
Her recent GS results — fourth, 14th, sixth and fourth — reflect steady improvement as she regains confidence and rhythm ahead of the slalom.
While the slalom remains her strongest event, her continued progress in giant slalom adds intrigue to a weekend already rich with historic implications.
Olympic sports weekend extends beyond alpine skiing
Elsewhere on the Alpine calendar, Livigno — the 2026 Olympic freestyle skiing and snowboarding venue — hosts its first-ever World Cup Alpine race with a men’s super-G. Swiss star Marco Odermatt enters as the reigning world champion and four-time World Cup super-G standings leader.
American Ryan Cochran-Siegle, the lone U.S. Alpine medalist from the 2022 Olympics, is also showing strong early form this season.
Meanwhile, the Tour de Ski begins Sunday in cross-country skiing. Jessie Diggins, the only North American to win the event, leads the World Cup overall standings and is competing in her final season before retirement, adding another compelling storyline to an action-packed Olympic sports weekend.