Mikaela Shiffrin is a champion American alpine skier. Shiffrin won the slalom gold medal at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, making her the youngest slalom champion in Olympic history. In 2018, she won the giant slalom gold medal at the Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. She has also won the slalom world championship several times.
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March is Women’s History Month, an annual observance of women’s achievements and contributions to society. This month, Behind the Headlines will feature woman pioneers in a variety of areas.

On Saturday, March 11, 2023, American Alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin won her 87th World Cup race in Slovenia. Shiffrin broke Swedish skier Ingemar Stenmark’s record for most career World Cup victories. Her record-breaking victory occurred 12 years after her first World Cup win at 15. She completed the course hundredths of a second faster than her opponents, securing her place as one of the greatest skiers of all time.

Shiffrin was born on March 13, 1995, in Vail, Colorado. She began skiing at the age of 3. Her family moved to New Hampshire when she was 8. Shiffrin graduated in 2013 from Burke Mountain Academy in Vermont, a high school for young skiers. In 2011, she made her World Cup debut at the age of 15, winning the bronze medal at Lienz, Austria. Later that year, at the age of 16, she won the slalom title at the United States National Championships in Winter Park, Colorado. She thus became the youngest skier to win that event. Slalom skiing involves racing down a winding course with flags. In 2012, she won her first World Cup race and was named World Cup Rookie of the Year.

Shiffrin won the slalom gold medal at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, making her the youngest slalom champion in Olympic history. In 2018, she won the giant slalom gold medal and the combined silver medal at the Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. She also won the slalom World Championship in 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2019; the super G World Championship in 2019; the combined World Championship in 2021; and the giant slalom World Championship in 2023. Shiffrin has won more world championship titles (7) than any other American skier.

The slalom, giant slalom, and super G are three of the skiing races that make up the Alpine World Cup. The cup is awarded annually to the men and women who have won the most points in a series of five races—the slalom, giant slalom, downhill, super G, and combined. Shiffrin initially concentrated on the slalom and giant slalom. She won the World Cup slalom title in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2023. In 2019 and 2023, she also won the World Cup giant slalom title. In 2016, she began competing in the other three World Cup events. Shiffrin won the World Cup super G title in 2019. She won the overall World Cup title in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, and 2023 for earning the most combined points in all the events. In 2022, Shiffrin won her 47th World Cup slalom race, setting the record for most career World Cup victories in a single event.

LeBron James is a dominant scorer, passer, rebounder, and defender. James led the Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Los Angeles Lakers to NBA titles.
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The King! The GOAT (greatest of all time)! The best in NBA history! Lebron James claimed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record for most regular-season points scored in a player’s career on February 7, 2023. He secured the record playing for the Los Angeles Lakers against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Abdul-Jabbar recorded 38,387 points in his career. James has put up 38,388 points since he started in the NBA in 2003. That is more points than how many miles it is to travel around the world 1.5 times!

Lebron James is a star forward in the National Basketball Association (NBA). James stands 6 feet 8 inches (2.03 meters) tall and weighs about 260 pounds (118 kilograms). His unusual combination of speed and power makes James one of the most unique and gifted players in NBA history. James is an outstanding scorer, playmaker, and defensive player. He was selected as the NBA’s Most Valuable Player for the 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2011-2012, and 2012-2013 seasons.

LeBron Raymone James was born on Dec. 30, 1984, in Akron, Ohio. He gained a national reputation while playing for St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron. The Cleveland Cavaliers selected James as the first pick in the 2003 NBA draft. He was named the NBA Rookie of the Year for the 2003-2004 season. In the 2006-2007 season, James led Cleveland to the team’s first conference championship in franchise history. James led the NBA in scoring for the 2007-2008 regular season with a 30-point average.

LeBron James scores a basket against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Miami Heat’s victory in the fifth and final game of the 2012 NBA finals. James was named the Most Valuable Player of the championship series.
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James signed with the Miami Heat after the 2009-2010 season. He helped Miami reach the NBA finals in 2010-2011 and 2013-2014. He led the team to the NBA championship in 2011-2012 and again in 2012-2013. He was a member of United States national teams that won gold medals at the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Summer Games. Following the 2013-2014 season, James rejoined Cleveland. He led the Cavaliers to the NBA finals four straight seasons, from 2014-2015 through 2017-2018, winning the NBA championship in 2015-2016. James joined the Los Angeles Lakers after the 2017-2018 season. He led the league in assists during the 2019-2020 season and led the Lakers to the NBA championship.

James and his high school teammates were the subjects of the documentary More Than a Game (2009). James wrote a memoir, Shooting Stars (2009), about his basketball career. He also wrote the inspirational children’s picture book I Promise (illustrated by Nina Mata, 2020). The book is related to the goals of the I Promise School, a public school for struggling students that the LeBron James Family Foundation opened in Akron. James has also worked as a producer, actor, and voice actor for a number of television and film projects. Such projects include the motion picture Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021).

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin skates in a game against the Carolina Hurricanes.
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GOAL! In December, professional hockey player Alex Ovechkin, who plays for the Washington Capitals, became the player with the second most goals in NHL history with 802 goals. He passed Gordie Howe’s record of 801 points. Hockey star Wayne Gretzky holds the number one record with 894 goals. However, Ovechkin isn’t retiring anytime soon!

He scored two goals in a game against the Winnipeg Jets on Friday, December 23rd, 2022. His first goal of the game tied him with Howe in the first quarter. With one minute left in the third quarter, he gracefully shot the puck into the goal to beat Howe’s record. The Capitals defeated the Jets 4 to 1.

Alexander Ovechkin is a Russian-born hockey player. He is one of the stars of the National Hockey League (NHL). Ovechkin, a left wing for the Washington Capitals, led the NHL in scoring with 112 points (65 goals and 47 assists) in the 2007-2008 season. He has led the league in goals scored nine times (2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2012-2013, 2013-2014, 2014-2015, 2015-2016, 2017-2018, 2018-2019, and 2019-2020).

Ovechkin won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s Most Valuable Player for the 2007-2008, 2008-2009, and 2012-2013 seasons. He also won the Lester B. Pearson Award (now the Ted Lindsay Award) for the 2007-2008, 2008-2009, and 2009-2010 seasons. The award is given to the most outstanding player in the NHL as voted by the league’s players. In 2018, Ovechkin led Washington to its first Stanley Cup championship. He was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Most Valuable Player in the 2018 playoffs.

Ovechkin was born on September 17th, 1985, in Moscow, U.S.S.R. (now Russia). He began playing hockey with Dynamo Moscow in the Russian Super League in 2001 at the age of 16 and spent four seasons with the team. Ovechkin was chosen by Washington as the first player selected in the 2004 NHL draft. However, he did not play with the Capitals until 2005, because the 2004-2005 NHL season was canceled due to a labor dispute between the players and owners. Ovechkin won the Calder Memorial Trophy in 2006 as the NHL Rookie of the Year. His 65 goals in 2007-2008 set an NHL record for left wingers.

Ovechkin helped the Russian national team win the men’s world championship in 2008. He played for Russia in the 2006 and 2010 Olympic Games.

American baseball player Aaron Judge
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Aaron Judge, one of the best players in Major League Baseball (MLB), hit his 62nd home run of the season on Tuesday, October 4, 2022. The previous record was set by Roger Maris back in 1961 with 61 home runs in a season. Before Maris, Babe Ruth held the record with 60 home runs. Judge batted the fateful home run in a game against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.

Judge, a powerful right fielder, plays for the New York Yankees in the American League (AL). Judge is unusually large for an MLB player. He stands 6 feet 7 inches (2 meters) tall. Judge has displayed an exceptional ability to hit home runs. In 2017, in his first full MLB season, Judge set a rookie record by hitting 52 home runs—the most in the American League that year. (Pete Alonso of the New York Mets broke Judge’s record in 2019 by hitting 53.) In 2017, Judge also led the league in runs scored (128) and walks (127) and finished second in runs batted in (114), behind Nelson Cruz (119). He was named AL Rookie of the Year. Judge throws and hits right-handed. He has been named to four AL All-Star teams.

Aaron James Judge was born on April 26, 1992, in Linden, California. He excelled at baseball, basketball, and football in high school. Judge played baseball at California State University, Fresno, before being drafted by the Yankees in 2013. He played in the minor leagues before making his MLB debut in August 2016.

Roger Maris ​​held the major league record for home runs in one season from 1961 to 1998. Maris had set the record when he hit 61 homers in 1961. His team, the New York Yankees, played a 162-game schedule that year. In 1927, Babe Ruth, also a Yankee, hit 60 homers in a 154-game schedule. Both totals were considered records until 1991, when Maris’s 61 homers were recognized as the sole record. The record stood until 1998, when Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals hit 70 home runs. McGwire hit 583 career home runs, the 11th most in MLB history, but performance-enhancing drug (PED) use tarnished his career. He was a 12-time All-Star and led his league in home runs four times, including a then-MLB record 70 in 1998. Despite these achievements, McGwire has received little support for entering the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Barry Bonds later smashed McGwire’s record, hitting 73 home runs in 2001 with the San Francisco Giants. However, similar allegations have haunted that achievement.

Chloe Kim, American snowboarder
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March is Women’s History Month, an annual observance of women’s achievements and contributions to society. This month, Behind the Headlines will feature woman pioneers in a variety of areas.

Chloe Kim brought home the gold medal in the women’s halfpipe snowboarding event at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games held in Beijing, China. The halfpipe is an acrobatic event performed in a deep trough. Kim also won the gold medal in the women’s halfpipe event at the 2018 Winter Olympics held in Pyeongchang, South Korea. In Pyeongchang, she became the youngest woman to win a snowboarding gold medal in the Winter Olympics. In Beijing, Kim became the first woman to win multiple Olympic golds in the women’s halfpipe snowboarding event.

Kim won the snowboarding gold medal in the women’s halfpipe competition during the 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Pyeongchang, South Korea.
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Kim has also gained international success in slopestyle events. In slopestyle, competitors perform on special courses that feature various obstacles. Kim was too young to compete in the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. However, at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway, she won gold medals in both the halfpipe and slopestyle. She thus became the first American woman to win a snowboarding gold medal at the Youth Olympic competition.

Kim had previously earned international recognition for her performances in the X Games, an action sports competition held in the summer and winter and modeled on the Olympics. She won a silver medal in the superpipe, a variation of the halfpipe, at the 2014 Winter X Games. In 2015 and 2016, she won three X Games gold medals in the superpipe. In 2016, Kim became the first female to score a perfect 100 in the superpipe at the U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix. She won the gold medal in the superpipe at the X Games again in 2018, 2019, and 2021.

Kim was born on April 23, 2000, in Long Beach, California. Her parents had immigrated to the United States from South Korea. Kim began snowboarding at the age of 4 and began competing as a member of Team Mountain High in California at the age of 6. She trained in Switzerland from the ages of 8 to 10 and then returned to the United States. In the fall of 2019, Kim enrolled at Princeton University, in New Jersey. She took a leave of absence from her studies in 2020 to concentrate on snowboarding.

American figure skating champion Nathan Chen
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American figure skater Nathan Chen clinched his highly anticipated and long-awaited first gold medal at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, China. The men’s figure skating event is decided by combining scores from the short and long programs. At the 2022 Games, Chen set a world record in the men’s short program with a score of 113.97. The previous record was set by Japan’s Olympian Yuzuru Hanyu, with 111.82 in 2020. Chen has been gunning for gold since his last Olympic performance, in which Hanyu took gold at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Chen was a member of the United States team that won a bronze medal in team figure skating at the 2018 Games. Chen finished fifth in the men’s figure skating event at the 2018 Games, while cementing his nickname, the “Quad King.” He made Olympic history by becoming the first skater to land six quadruple jumps in one program. In a quadruple jump, the skater jumps and makes four full revolutions in the air.

Chen won the men’s World Figure Skating Championship sponsored by the International Skating Union (ISU) in 2018, 2019, and 2021. The ISU is the governing body of international figure skating. Chen also won the Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in 2017, 2018, and 2019. The Grand Prix, organized by the ISU, includes six international figure skating events leading to a Final competition for the top skaters.

Chen won six U.S. Figure Skating Championships (also called the nationals, or U.S. Championships), consecutively from 2017 to 2022. U.S. Skating is the national governing body of figure skating in the United States. The organization sponsors competition at many levels, including novice, junior, and senior competitions that lead to national titles. During the U.S. nationals in 2017, Chen became the first skater to land five quadruple jumps in one program.

Chen was born on May 5, 1999, in Salt Lake City, Utah. His parents emigrated from China to the United States in 1988. Chen began skating at the age of three. He entered his first figure skating competition in 2003, at the age of four. Chen won the national novice title at the U.S. Championships in 2010, the youngest novice champion in the history of U.S. Figure Skating. For the 2011-2012 season, Chen moved up to the junior level and won the junior men’s title in 2012. He won the bronze medal at the 2014 World Junior Championships. He won the gold medal in the Final of the 2015 Junior Grand Prix.