New Hampshire Native Mikaela Shiffrin Wins Her 78th World Cup After Costly 2022 Mistake

Editor's note: This article was written by a Townsquare Media Northern New England contributor and may contain the individual's views, opinions, or personal experiences.

Fans of New Hampshire native Mikaela Shiffrin were heartbroken during the 2022 winter Olympics.

The slalom skier who went to Burke Mountain Academy in Vermont and lived with her family near Lyme, New Hampshire, for years did not qualify during the 2022 Winter Olympics.

According to the Olympics website, Shiffrin has

"5 gold medals at consecutive World Championships. When Shiffrin won gold in the combined at the 2021 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, she became the first skier to win a gold medal at five straight World Championships. She had won four slalom world titles in a row from 2013 through 2019, making her the first athlete to do so in any discipline."

In the 2022 Winter Olympics, Shiffrin was expected to qualify, if not win again. It was a major blow to her confidence. It is like Tom Brady fumbling on the last drive to miss the playoffs, or Patrice Bergeron scoring on his own goal to lose the Stanley Cup, or Michael Jordan missing a layup to win a game...it doesn't happen. A mistake like that by Mikaela Shiffrin just shouldn't happen, but it did.

Nearly a year later, Shiffrin is putting that mistake behind her and focusing on what she does best: win.

Hardly edging out slalom ski competitor Petra Vlhova by 0.13 seconds, Shiffrin took home her 78th World Cup Skiing win.

Shiffrin ranks third all-time and second among women, behind only Stenmark (86) and Lindsey Vonn (82) in FIS Alpine Ski World Cup career wins, according to the Olympics.

The World Cup race was the first race in a series of eight technical events in Austria, Croatia, and Slovenia. Fortunately, the New Hampshire native is back on tracks and in a good space.

"It's important to start this block with good skiing, with a good mindset, a good mentality, and the right motivation," Shiffrin said according to a WMUR article. "I feel I'm there, so no matter what happens the next two days, it's a really, really good place to start this block."

Check out her win below.