Blick calculates the top 20 in women’s ski racing: these are the best of all time

Bad luck for the Slovak? She is active in the World Cup at a time when Mikaela Shiffrin wins almost everything. Vlhova’s 28 World Cup victories and especially her Olympic gold in the slalom from 2022 are therefore very high.

If the Austrian, who started out under the name Anna Fenninger before her marriage in 2016, had not announced her retirement at the age of 30, she would probably be higher on this list. But her list of achievements is also impressive: Olympic champion, world champion, overall World Cup winner.

The Austrian was the giant slalom dominator in the 1990s. In this discipline she reached the podium 45 times. But she won her only gold medal in the combination: at the 1988 Olympic Games in Calgary.

Schild won 35 of her 37 World Cup victories in slalom. Because the Austrian hardly has any success in the other disciplines, she only achieved 17th place in our ranking.

The Swede was a true all-rounder and won at least two World Cup races in all five main disciplines. Also great: Wiberg also managed to win a World Cup medal in four different disciplines. Only in the Super-G did she remain without a medal.

The Toggenburg native won four disciplines at the World Cup and won at least one medal in three disciplines at the World Championships. Only a victory in the slalom was denied her. In 1981 she reached the podium third in Wangs-Pizol.

Her name is sometimes almost lost among all the exceptional Austrian athletes. Wrongly! “Dorfi” became both world and Olympic champion in the two speed disciplines downhill and super-G.

Season after season, the Ticino woman works her way into the top 10 of our rankings. Since winning the Super-G World Cup in 2022/23 and coming second in the overall World Cup, she is now one of the ten best riders of all time.

There is only one reason why the woman from Nidwalden is not further ahead: Hess ended her career at the age of 25. Her impressive record despite her early retirement: six-time world champion, 31 World Cup victories.

Maze also managed to win at least one World Cup race in all five core disciplines. The Slovenian was always ready, especially at major events: nine World Cup and four Olympic medals were her impressive list of achievements.

Slalom, Super-G, downhill and overall World Cup: the German from Garmisch-Partenkirchen impressed on every stage and, in particular, fought many legendary duels with Lindsey Vonn.

The mother of current SRF expert Tina Weirather was a genius on skis. Strong in all disciplines, she became a three-time world champion (slalom, giant slalom, combination) in Lake Placid (USA) in 1980.

She was the child prodigy from Croatia. Since the beginning, they have been in the private team together with brother Ivica, and their father Ante used harsh methods to push the duo to the top of the world. Crazy: In just four major events between 2002 and 2006, Kostelic won a whopping nine gold medals.

Before Seizinger retired in 1999, she won downhill after downhill thanks to her incredible sense of speed. What many people forget: Seizinger was also a reasonable slalom skier; In 1998 she won Olympic gold in the combination.

She was the downhill queen between 1996 and 2007. And Götschl was also a force in Super-G. 46 World Cup victories are testament to her skills. In 2021, she ran for president of the ÖSV, which generated many headlines. She is very involved with the offspring in Styria and has been a mother for a long time.

The Swede won no fewer than thirteen World Cup medals, seven of which were gold. In 2007 alone, Pärson won five medals at the home world championships in Are (Sd) – including gold in downhill, super-G and combined. In 2012, the woman who celebrated her victories with a belly flop resigned from her job. Shortly afterwards she came out and her partner gave birth to a child.

Gold-Vreni only in 4th place? The reason for this is that, compared to, for example, Shiffrin, Elmer celebrated 33 fewer World Cup victories and was ‘only’ World Champion and Olympic Champion each. Now you could say that Schneider drove fewer races. Justifiably. Regardless, Schneider is and remains a legend of the sport.

In 1999 she was named “Best Ski Athlete of the Century” – undoubtedly a good choice. Pröll won a major victory in the 1970s, becoming five-time world champion and six-time overall World Cup winner. The innkeeper still holds a women’s record: she won eleven consecutive descents. Her talent was discovered by the village pastor in her birthplace Kleinarl (Salzburgerland), who recommended the farmer’s daughter to the ÖSV.

Drama queen or speed queen? Vonn was both. No woman in skiing history has mastered the balancing act between entertainment and athletic performance (including eight crystal balls downhill) better. She cried in pain and happiness, came to press conferences with her lapdog and even lashed out at opponents like Mikaela Shiffrin (“She always does her own thing”). Vonn was always brave on skis, and sometimes even stubborn – she often seriously injured herself.

Just a season ago, Shiffrin was behind Vonn. That has now changed. She assumes that the American has also surpassed Ingemar Stenmark’s record (86 World Cup victories). “That’s what I love about it, I love that there are a lot of people who don’t care what I achieve. There will always be people who think Ingemar is the greatest. Or those who absolutely think Marcel Hirscher is the greatest or Lindsey is the greatest. So their legacy will always remain intact and they will always be part of the history of ski racing. The greatest achievement is that I get to be part of this conversation.” That’s definitely Shiffrin.