American Mikaela Shiffrin just became the most decorated woman skier in World Cup history.
She won her 83rd championship on the Alpine World Cup circuit on Tuesday. Shiffrin surpassed former teammate Lindsay Vonn who retired four years ago due to injury.
She told ESPN that before racing, noise about other skiers' performances was loud, so much so that she almost convinced herself that she could lose the race.
"Finally, when it was time to go, then it was like everything went quiet, and I just pushed as hard as I could every turn. It was pretty amazing to come through the finish and see that I was quite fast," she said.
The record-breaking win comes just a year after Shiffrin failed to medal at the Beijing Winter games after competing in six different events.
The only feat now for Shiffrin is to surpass Swedish skier Ingemar Stenmark who won the Alpine World Cup a staggering 86 times. And she has time to accomplish the feat at just 27-years-old.
Vonn, who is the next closest woman in championship count, retired early at just 34-years-old. Shiffrin, however, is up to challenge and attributes her success to her ability to stay focused.
"It's still hard for me to believe that, apparently, I have the mental focus again to be strong again in the second run," she said. "That's something that I don't take for granted."
