Mikaela Shiffrin becomes third American to win skier of year

SOELDEN, Austria – Overall World Cup champion Mikaela Shiffrin has been voted skier of the year 2017, becoming the third American to receive the award.

The international association of ski journalists says Shiffrin will receive the Skieur d’Or-Serge Lang Trophy, named after the founder of Alpine skiing’s World Cup in the 1960s, on Friday.

The association praised Shiffrin for “her impressive past season,” adding that she’s “a pleasant interlocutor for ski reporters … doing a great job to promote our sport around the globe.”

Shiffrin, who also won the slalom World Cup and world title last season, is succeeding six-time men’s overall champion Marcel Hirscher of Austria, who lifted the trophy the past two years. Earlier American winners were Lindsey Vonn in 2009 and Bode Miller in 2005.