Vail native Mikaela Shiffrin’s landmark victory, her 100th World Cup win at Sestriere on Feb. 23, 2025, is getting the red-carpet treatment this summer as one of Colorado’s Top 150 sports moments. The Colorado Sports Hall of Fame slotted that slalom run into its countdown of the state’s greatest athletic achievements, folding a global record back into local lore. For Colorado fans, it is a reminder that a hometown skier’s worldwide milestone still feels like a Colorado story first.
The listing and its context were published this week by The Denver Gazette, which is partnering with the Hall of Fame to unveil the Top 150 in stages ahead of the state’s sesquicentennial. As the Gazette notes, historian Dave Plati coordinated a committee to rank the entries and assigned the Sestriere slalom the No. 24 spot.
How She Made History in Sestriere
Mikaela Shiffrin locked down the slalom win at Sestriere, Italy, on Feb. 23, 2025, and with that single race became the first Alpine skier, male or female, to reach 100 World Cup victories, according to FIS. After crossing the line, she told reporters, “I don’t know that it’s possible to dream about a milestone like this. It’s too big, it’s too long,” as FIS reported.
Comeback and Charity
The Sestriere win carried extra weight after Shiffrin’s crash at Killington in November left her with a puncture wound and a tough rehab, a comeback detailed by U.S. Ski & Snowboard. That coverage also noted that Shiffrin used the spotlight around World Cup win No. 100 to highlight Share Winter and other outreach efforts tied to the milestone.
Numbers That Put the Milestone in Perspective
Colorado Sports Hall of Fame historian Dave Plati’s write-up records that the Sestriere victory came in Shiffrin’s 278th World Cup start and marked her 155th top-three finish, tying Swedish legend Ingemar Stenmark. Plati’s entry also notes that through the 2025–26 season, she had totaled 110 World Cup victories, including 73 slalom wins. Fans can see the Hall of Fame’s full Top 150 entry, per the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame.
What It Means for Vail and the State
For Vail, where Shiffrin learned to ski and cut her teeth on the race circuit, the Hall of Fame placement underscores a rare mix of small-town roots and global dominance. The Top 150 countdown runs through July, with the No. 1 moment set to be revealed July 31, as The Denver Gazette notes.
Whether fans remember Sestriere for the tears on the podium or the eye-popping numbers that followed, that slalom remains a defining marker for both the sport and Colorado’s athletic identity. It is a moment that turns an international record into a hometown chapter, one that seems destined to sit on Colorado’s all-time list for years to come.
