Mikaela Shiffrin, now the most decorated female alpine ski racer, takes the record

Jan. 24—From Missy Franklin to Goose Gossage, Colorado has produced more than its fair share of top-tier athletes.

A new athlete, though, has risen to the top of the mountain.

All hail Mikaela Shiffrin, who on Tuesday became the most decorated female alpine skier in history with her 83rd World Cup win at Kronplatz, Italy. The Vail Valley resident is only 27 years old, with plenty of time to cement her legacy as the best skier to ever grace the alpine trails.

Shiffrin has won 35 percent of the races she's entered, a mark even tennis dynamos Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams can't claim. Lindsay Vonn, whose record Shiffrin broke Tuesday with a win in giant slalom, won 20 percent of her races.

Born in Vail to avid ski parents, Shiffrin made her international debut in 2010 at 14 years old and won her first World Cup in 2012 at age 17. She has six world championship titles to her name and three Olympic medals, including two gold. She's won four overall World Cup titles. Her 17 World Cup wins in 2018-2019 are the most in a single season.

So where does that place Shiffrin on that all-list of the most accomplished athletes to grow up in Colorado? No. 1, of course. Here are a few other names she had to climb over to get there:

Chauncey Billups

A George Washington High graduate, Billups is the best basketball player to come from Colorado. He stayed local for college, traveling just up the road to lead the Buffaloes to their first NCAA tournament appearance in 28 years. He then went on to the NBA, where he spent 17 years leaving his mark on the league, including helping the Pistons win the 2004 NBA Finals. He's now the head coach of the Trail Blazers.

Missy Franklin

Amy Van Dyken was also very deserving of this spot, but Franklin's 11 world championship wins, in addition to five Olympic gold medals, makes her the greatest swimmer to grace the state.

Franklin, born in California and raised in Aurora, had half of the state records by the time she graduated from Regis Jesuit High. She qualified for Olympic trials in 2008 at the age of 13 and won five medals at the 2011 World Championships when she was only 15. She won four gold medals and a bronze at the 2012 London Olympics, where she also broke two world records. A year later, at the 2013 World Championships, she won six gold medals, the most ever by a female swimmer. Franklin won one more gold medal at the 2016 Olympics before retiring from the sport at just 23 years old due to chronic shoulder pain.

Goose Gossage

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Gossage, hailing from a state not known for producing top baseball talent, brought the reliever and closer role into a new era. He played 22 years in the major leagues, spending his time primarily with the White Sox, Yankees and Padres. He won a World Series with the Yankees and was a nine-time All-Star. By the time he hung up his jersey, he was third all-time in games pitched, relief innings pitched and relief wins, in addition to second in strikeouts for relievers. He also ranks first all-time in one not-so-fun category: blown saves.

Sarah Will

Although not a Colorado native, Will did spend her career training in Vail, where she founded a monoski program. She was the youngest member of the U.S. team at the 1992 games, where she won her first two gold medals. She went on to become the most decorated athlete in U.S. Paralympic alpine history, winning 13 Paralympic medals, including at least one gold medal in all four disciplines.

Byron "Whizzer" White

Born in Fort Collins, White had his No. 24 jersey retired in Boulder. CU's first football All-American was a unanimous choice in 1937, when the Buffs went 8-0 and White set national records with 1,121 rushing yards and 122 points. White became a two-time all-pro halfback before serving as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Navy. President Kennedy nominated White to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1962 and White served on the court for three decades.

Hale Irwin

A two-sport star in football and golf with the CU Buffs, Irwin was raised between Baxter Springs, Kans., and Boulder. With the Buffs, Irwin was a two-time all-Big Eight defensive back — even as he set a scoring record as a Buffs golfer of 71.86, a mark that stood for 50 years. Asked by The Denver Gazette how he juggled an unusual pairing of sports at a historic level, Irwin said: "I worked very hard. I listened. I watched." Irwin went on to win three U.S. Opens — in 1974 at Winged Foot, 1979 at Inverness Club, 1990 at Medinah. Irwin now lives in Arizona.

Jack Dempsey

Born in Manassa in south-central Colorado, Dempsey reigned as the world heavyweight boxing champ from 1919-26. "The Ring" magazine named Dempsey one of the top-10 champs of all time. His first fight reportedly occurred in Cripple Creek. In 1923, Dempsey appeared on the cover of "Time" magazine. His career record was 64-6, 53 wins by knockout.

Dave Logan

One of six athletes to be drafted into the NBA, NFL and MLB, Logan is at the top of this list. The Wheat Ridge grad played football and basketball for the CU Buffs and was a Sporting News football All-American in 1975. Logan was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Kings and Cleveland Browns. He played nine seasons in the NFL, setting receiving records with the Browns before spending the 1984 season with the Broncos. He's been the voice of the Broncos on 850 KOA for a quarter century and has won 11 state titles as a football coach at Arvada West, Chatfield, Mullen and Cherry Creek.