After 12 years, Mikaela Shiffrin is back where it all began — at the top of an Olympic Alpine skiing podium.
Her dominant pair of runs in the women's slalom on Wednesday morning earned Shiffrin her third career gold medal — and her first in eight years. The Edwards, Colorado native was shut out at the 2022 Winter Olympics after netting two medals (gold and silver) at the 2018 Games and one (gold) at the 2014 Games.
Shiffrin was unable to find the podium in her first two events in Cortina but in her last chance at Olympic glory in 2026, she not only paced the field, but blew right by all challengers.
And in the process, she rewrote the history books.
Here are eight of the most mind-bending stats from Shiffrin's historic victory, courtesy of Nick Zaccardi and Bill Mallon:
- With the victory, Shiffrin is the first U.S. skier to win three Olympic gold medals.
- In 2014, Shiffrin became the youngest U.S. woman to win the slalom gold at 18 years old. On Wednesday, she became the oldest (30) U.S. woman to win slalom gold.
- The 12-year span between Shiffrin's two gold medals is the largest gap in Winter Olympic history between individual gold medals in the same event. Four other Olympians have won gold in the same event 12 years apart, but they all came in team events.
- Shiffrin won the slalom by 1.50 seconds, which is the largest margin in any Olympic Alpine skiing event since 1998.
- The 1.50-second gap between Shiffrin and 2nd place is the largest margin of victory in the women's slalom since Switzerland's Vreni Schneider won in 1988 by 1.68 seconds.
- Only two skiers have ever won the Olympic slalom twice — Shiffrin and Schneider.
- Shiffrin is the only U.S. skier to win the slalom twice.
- Shiffrin joined Julia Mancuso as only the second U.S. woman to win four Alpine skiing medals.