Shiffrin back in business with 4th overall skiing World Cup title
Mikaela Shiffrin after winning the Alpine Ski World Cup for women's Super G, Courchevel, France, March 16, 2022. (AFP Photo)


American skiing superstar Mikaela Shiffrin bounced back from a disappointing Winter Olympics campaign as she clinched the overall World Cup title in Courchevel, France, on Thursday.

Shiffrin claimed the victory with two races to spare when she took second place in the final super-G of the season.

She opened an unassailable 236-point lead at the top of the standings over second-place Petra Vlhova of Slovakia, who finished in 17th place outside the points.

Shiffrin, who now has four overall World Cup titles to her name and three Olympic medals, finished the season in style after an underwhelming outing in the Beijing Winter Games.

The 27-year-old unexpectedly won Wednesday's downhill to take a major step toward winning the overall title, which she secured with a precise performance Thursday.

She finished just 0.05 seconds behind race winner Ragnhild Mowinckel of Norway, who clocked one minute 13.68 seconds.

Swiss Michelle Gisin was third, 0.13 seconds off the pace.

Shiffrin, who won three consecutive overall World Cup titles from 2017-19, is now level with fellow American Lindsey Vonn on four, two shy of the women's record of Austrian Annemarie Moser-Proell, the winner from 1971-75 and in 1979.

Another Austrian, Marcel Hirscher, holds the record with eight titles in a row from 2012-19.