American teen Mikaela Shiffrin's sensational start to the season has seen her claim three impressive slalom victories on the World Cup circuit as the US team shines as a whole.
Mikaela Shiffrin of the US reacts during the women's night slalom ski race as part of the 2013 FIS Ski World Cup, in Flachau on January 15, 2013. Shiffrin's sensational start to the season has seen her claim three impressive slalom victories on the World Cup circuit as the US team shines as a whole.
Coming at the age of just 17 years and 308 days, her feats mirror exactly those of Austrian legend Annemarie Moser-Proell, who would go on to win a women's World Cup record 62 races over the course of her illustrious 11-year career.
It can only be a good omen for Shiffrin, who was voted World Cup rookie of the year last season by her peers.
"My coaches talked to me about her (Moser-Proell) and I did some research on her on Wikipedia, notably about her results," said Shiffrin, whose run of form falls nicely for the February 4-17 world championships in Schladming, Austria.
"She is probably the greatest skier of all time. It is now for me to make my own mark."
On Tuesday, Shiffrin won the night slalom in the Austrian resort of Flachau after Germany's reigning Olympic champion in the discipline, Maria Hoefl-Riesch, crashed out on the testing second leg.
It was a third victory after previous slalom wins in Are and Zagreb, and it sees Shiffrin take a shock lead in the discipline's standings on 436 points ahead of Slovenia's overall World Cup leader Tina Maze, on 355.
"This is my third win this season, yet I still remain as surprised as in Are, after my first victory. This is much more than I ever expected at the start of the season," Shiffrin said.
The American, who hails from the Colorado resort of Vail, picked up a pretty package for winning in Flachau: the largest purse on the women's World Cup, just over $58,500.
"What else does a 17-year-old have to do with this much money?" she asked. "I could buy a car but I'm not allowed to drive yet. I'm really close to graduating high school, so I guess I'll use it to pay for college."
Shiffrin said her race tactics were blindingly straightforward.
"My secret is to not let anything stop me," she said. "Sometimes the crowd gets into your head and all of a sudden you're nervous but instead I just let them take me to the finish.
"Apparently my focus is the bottom of the course and not the top. You know how when three or four year olds run around all day and they just don't get tired. That's kind of like me, so at the end of the course, I'm like a three-year-old and I just keep going. I guess it works."
Shiffrin said skiing was in her blood, having been born in one of the premier resorts Stateside.
"I watched a lot of the older girls ever since I was five so I think I gained a lot of experience watching them over and over to the point I was dreaming about skiing in my sleep," she said.
While five-time Olympic medallist Bode Miller might have opted out of action this season to allow his knee to fully recuperate for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, Shiffrin is part of a resurgent US ski team that is really making their mark on the circuit.
Shiffrin and Alice McKennis have stolen the thunder of Lindsey Vonn, a four-time World Cup overall winner, while Ted Ligety has continued to perform well in the men's events.
"The strength of our team has been really fun to watch," Vonn said after seeing McKennis win the St Anton downhill.
"It's great to be racing with these girls again."
Laurenne Ross, who finished fifth in St Anton, one place ahead of Vonn, added: "We're all really supportive of each other and we all get along really well - there's such a good dynamic between us.
"It's so cool when someone you train with every day and are neck and neck with does well - it's nice to know you can be in there too."