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Emotions came pouring out of Mikaela Shiffrin after the ski queen's great achievement in matching American compatriot Lindsey Vonn's all-time women's World Cup ski wins record, with her 82nd triumph.
First, there was a scream of delight after a serious case of nerves that had been building inside her throughout the day.
Then came tears during the playing of the American anthem when Shiffrin's thoughts turned to her father, Jeff, who died three years ago.
"My dad used to be there and taking pictures. Most races these days I'll think about him and I'm able to kind of refocus," Shiffrin said at the Slovenian resort of Kranjska Gora.
"But when I'm singing the national anthem, it's different.
"It was just before I ever won my first World Cup, he said, 'You better memorise the words of the national anthem, because if you ever win, you better sing it'.
"And so I always think about him when I'm up there."
Shiffrin led from start to finish, to win a giant slalom by a large margin and can now break Vonn's mark in a night slalom scheduled for Flachau, Austria, on Tuesday.
"I was so nervous this run. I have a rash on my face I was so nervous," Shiffrin said. "I don't know why, maybe a little bit was because of 82. I just really wanted to ski well, and I did."
Where other skiers struggled on a dark, bumpy and unusually steep course, Shiffrin made it all look straightforward and smooth.
Already with eight wins this season, Shiffrin is also quickly approaching Ingemar Stenmark's overall record — between men and women — of 86 victories.
Vonn said: "If anyone is to break my record, I'm really happy that it's an American."
While the often-injured Vonn required 395 races for her 82 wins, Shiffrin has done it in just 233 races.
And at age 27, Shiffrin could compete for several more years and win many more races.
"I knew from the very beginning that she would be the one to break all the records," Vonn said.
"But to be able to do it at such a young age is really impressive."
Shiffrin's achievement comes almost a year after a disappointing performance at the Beijing Olympics, when she competed in six events without winning a medal.
AP