When it rains, it pours but Mikaela Shiffrin’s proving she can dance in the downpour. Just days ago, she was on cloud nine, celebrating her record-shattering 100th World Cup win — the first skier ever, male or female, to hit triple digits. Even more impressive? She nailed that victory after a two-month injury break. But just when things seemed peachy, boom — another curveball. In Saturday’s World Cup giant slalom in Are, Sweden, Shiffrin skied wide on a right-hand turn and didn’t finish her first run. But hey, silver lining — good news is already back on the horizon, and while she celebrated the happy ending, she didn’t miss out on an opportunity to clap for her competitors!

Mikaela Shiffrin may have let a win slip through her fingers on Sunday, but she still walked away with a slice of history — her 156th career World Cup podium, more than anyone else ever. Leading after her first run despite the falling snow, Shiffrin struggled in her second and ended up third, 0.19 seconds behind surprise winner Katharina Truppe. Austria’s Katharina Liensberger grabbed second, just 0.05 seconds back. Shiffrin, always classy, was all smiles at the finish. “Katharina Day!” she cheered, hugging the two Austrians who beat her. But the 29-year-old still managed to create a fascinating record!

That third-place finish was enough to push Shiffrin past Swedish legend Ingemar Stenmark for the most career podiums. She already snatched Stenmark’s all-time wins record this season, with 100 victories to his 86. Sunday was Shiffrin’s last chance at a ninth slalom title, but missing four races made it a long shot. With Petra Vlhova sidelined, the title race is wide open, with four skiers still in the hunt before the March 27 finale in Sun Valley.

Zrinka Ljutic leads the pack, with Camille Rast 41 points behind her — and Ljutic can lock down the title with a top-three finish. Liensberger and Swiss star Wendy Holdener are still in the mix too. But Mikaela Shiffrin, who’s about to hit the big 3-0 on Thursday, has been an absolute podium magnet landing in the top three in nearly 56% of her 280 World Cup starts, and an impressive 75% in slalom. But March 8 didn’t exactly go her way.

Mikaela Shiffrin’s journey isn’t finished yet

Still working to find her rhythm after that nasty November crash, Mikaela Shiffrin’s struggles continued in Are, Sweden, where she skied wide on a right-hand turn and didn’t finish her first run. That early exit wasn’t just frustrating — it officially knocked her out of the FIS World Cup Final in the giant slalom, marking the first time since her 2012 debut season that she won’t compete in the season-ending race.  Meanwhile, on that race, Federica Brignone was out there putting on a clinic. She crushed both runs, grabbing a dominant win and inching closer to her second overall World Cup title.

Brignone didn’t just win — she owned that course, finishing 1.36 seconds ahead of Alice Robinson, with Lara Colturi taking third. Canada’s Valérie Grenier was heartbreakingly close to the podium, finishing just 0.14 seconds back in fifth. And even with her big lead, Brignone kept pushing — so much so that she nearly wiped out near the finish when both skis popped off the snow. “I said, ‘Oh no, this is over,’” Brignone laughed, but somehow she hung on. But at the same time, Mikaela Shiffrin knows how to turn setbacks into comebacks and she did!