Mikaela Shiffrin Becomes Winningest Female Slalom Skier After Historic 36th Win

American Alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin won her 36th World Cup slalom race Saturday in Austria to break a tie with Marlies Raich for the most in history by a female competitor.

Eric Willemsen of the Associated Press provided comments from Shiffrin, who edged Petra Vlhova of Slovakia and Wendy Holdener of Switzerland.

"[Raich] is my biggest idol beside Bode Miller," Shiffrin said. "When I was young, I wanted to be the best skier in the world. I was always watching Marlies; she was a legend. To me, she is the best slalom skier. I wouldn't be here without her. For me, she has this record forever."

The victory capped a memorable 2018 for the 23-year-old Colorado native.

Shiffrin won a gold medal in the giant slalom during the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and also captured silver in the combined event.

She earned her second straight World Cup overall title in March on the strength of her fifth slalom title in the past six years.

"It's a little bit unbelievable, in every meaning of the word," she said of her year, per Willemsen.

Shiffrin is on pace for an even more dominant World Cup result during the 2018-19 season thanks to a greater focus on the super-G, in which she ranks first after wins in Canada and Switzerland.

It's helped her build a massive lead in the overall. With 1,034 points following Saturday's win, she is nearly 500 ahead of her closest competitor (Vlhova, 568).

Her improvement in the super-G could make her a serious threat for four medals when the 2022 Olympics roll around, and she may even make enough strides in the downhill by then to compete in all five medal events in Beijing.

Shiffrin has won 51 World Cup races across all disciplines since her first victory in December 2012.