Mikaela Shiffrin’s Olympic start hasn’t been what she’d hoped. The all-time skiing legend and favorite to win gold disqualified herself from the first two events, giant slalom and slalom, after a combined 16 seconds of race time.
“I’ll try to reset again, and maybe try to reset better this time,” she said in an interview with NBC. “But I also don’t know how to do it better because I’ve never been in this position before and I don’t know how to handle it.”
It’s been a shock to see the 47-time World Cup slalom winner struggle in the events we’ve seen her succeed in over and over again, and a heartbreak seeing and hearing her reactions to the disappointment.
“It makes me second-guess the last 15 years, everything I thought I knew about my own skiing and slalom and racing mentality,” Shiffrin said, according to ESPN. “Just processing a lot, for sure.”
But her journey in Beijing is far from over as she’s opted to continue racing with three more medal chances ahead. Tonight, she’ll race in the super-G competition, and we’re betting on a bounce back for the legend!
Her father, Jeff, tragically passed away in February 2020 to an a head injury at the family’s home. He was always there, supporting Shiffrin at every race, as she became the most decorated alpine skier in Team USA history.
“It’s taken so long just to get to this point,” Shiffrin told PEOPLE magazine ahead of the 2022 Games. “I’m not even close to being done grieving, but every day I feel that spark and motivation returning. It’s like healing from an injury. You get to the point where you can race again, but it still hurts sometimes.”
What Nathan Chen is to figure skating and Chloe Kim is to snowboarding, Shiffrin is to alpine skiing. She’s the all-time winningest slalom skier, youngest to win a gold medal in slalom (18), three-time Olympian, two-time gold medalist and one-time silver medalist.
Her list of firsts are seemingly endless including becoming the youngest racer to reach 50 World Cup victories and first alpine athlete to win World Cup Crystal Globes in overall, slalom, giant slalom and super-G.
Everything Shiffrin is doing in Beijing is cosmetic at this point. She’s one of the greatest ever. And as she competes again, we’re ready to cheer her on as she finishes the remainder of her events.Learn more about our Bet on Women Campaign here.Terms and conditions
1. Because she has a small herd of reindeer – four to be exact!!
You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen? Well forget them, because now we have Rudolph (2013), Sven (2016), Mr. Gru (2018) and Ingemar Stenmark (2019)
2. Because look at her cat!
Okay, blueberry used to be our favorite, but look at this Muffin!
3. Because she’s got jokes
But at the same time, she understands the importance of staying safe.
4. Because she can out-ski dinosaurs
If you didn’t think she had superpowers before… you definitely do now. #Flash
5. Because she can squat more than you
Y’all already know strong is the new skinny