Shiffrin Earns First Downhill Victory Since 2020

For the Woemen's DH it was time for both Goggia and Suter to go head-to-head for the title. To win the downhill globe, Suter was obliged to win the race and claim the 100 points to go ahead of Goggia. However, it was not her day as she bottled it and finished 19th. Goggia, who tackled the course after Suter knew that she just needed to finish the race to claim the downhill globe and finished 12th. After having a rollercoaster of a season and coming back from a big injury, the sheer determination Goggia showed to claim the title was remarkable. The race victory, however, was won by no other than Mikaela Shiffrin (USA), who claimed her third downhill in her career. 

It was a tight and exciting downhill race at the site of the 2023 World Championships on a new track for everyone, L'Eclipse, at Courchevel. The coveted leaderboard saw a lot of faces, with Czech Republic’s Ester Ledecka setting the pace and hanging on until Swiss Joana Haehlen took over. From there, Austria’s Christine Scheyer came down tied with Haehlen. Though she was running bib 21 with only two downhill World Cups under her belt this season—in which she placed 26th and 38th, at Lake Louise, Canada—Shiffrin had confidence from her fast downhill training runs and took that confidence into race day. Shiffrin came down in first by .10 seconds to push Haehlen and Scheyer into second. Switzerland’s Michelle Gisin finished fourth, a mere .14 off Shiffrin’s pace. 

The victory is Shiffrin’s 74th career victory and third downhill victory. The last time Shiffrin was on top of the downhill podium—or a speed podium of any kind—was on January 24, 2020, in Bankso, Bulgaria. Though she is the only athlete in history to win in all six World Cup disciplines, Shiffrin still doesn’t consider herself a seasoned speed skier, yet her natural gift for speed is undeniable. 

“I don’t really feel like I’m supposed to be winning downhills,” she reflected following her victory. She continued, “Actually, I feel like I’m supposed to not be winning downhills, so it worked out amazing today, and I think I did a really good job with my coaches and the whole team here, they’re all here and fully committed to helping me learn this track and execute it the best possible way…and giving me exactly what I needed to ski the most confident. Even then, I’m not a downhill skier right now. I have great pieces, but it takes a lot of thought, a lot of work, a lot of effort…some of the things that come naturally to other women are not coming naturally to me. So I have to remind myself of little things that no one else is having to think about.” 

With just a handful of downhill training days under her belt this season, Shiffrin was just looking for some points. “For me, I was thinking if I could be top 10 or top five that would be great…but to actually win the race is above my expectations,” she said.