OSLO (AP) - American skier Mikaela Shiffrin dominated downhill training in Norway on Wednesday ahead of what could become another record-breaking weekend.
Shiffrin is aiming for her 86th career World Cup victory to match the all-time mark set by Swedish great Ingemar Stenmark in the 1970s and 80s.
Shiffrin is expected to have three chances this weekend, starting with a super-G on Friday, followed by a downhill the next day and another super-G on Sunday.
The races in Kvitfjell, the resort that hosted the Alpine skiing events at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics, mark Shiffrin’s return to World Cup racing after nearly five weeks. She sat out speed races in Switzerland last weekend, which were the first World Cup events after the world championships in France.
Shiffrin won gold in giant slalom and silver in both super-G and slalom at the worlds in February, but those results don’t count towards the World Cup.
While the downhill is her weakest event — with three career wins from 19 starts — Shiffrin did post the fastest time by far in Wednesday’s first training on the Olympiabakken course. She led Norwegian skier Kajsa Vickhoff Lie by more than half a second, while only two more racers finished within a second of the American’s time.