WE’RE SEEING A MORE NORMALIZED VERSION OF SHIFFRIN, A FLAWED PERSON WHO BUCKLES UNDER PRESSURE JUST LIKE THE REST OF US. PERSONALLY, I THINK THAT MAKES HER EVEN MORE LIKABLE. Yes, she’s a seriously devoted athlete, but that doesn’t mean she won’t let loose occasionally. After securing the overall World Cup title this season, she danced—mostly by herself—in a popular après-ski bar in Kvitfjell, Norway. She’s been known to send her coach out on donut runs. And though she’s poised and media trained, she’s also not afraid to speak up for what she believes in. She’s been candid and honest about social justice issues like gender equality in sports and the Black Lives Matter movement, and she’s talked about her period in interviews before. In 2023, Kilde mock interviewed her in front of the camera. It was later posted on FIS Alpine’s YouTube channel and she was so giggly, she could barely answer his questions. Shiffrin is part of the U.S. Ski Team, but has always operated a bit independently, traveling separately with her own crew. She gets her own house outside of the athlete village during the Olympics so she can have a quiet place free of distractions. “There’s no shortage of media atten-tion, hype, chaos. That can be overwhelming,” Shiffrin once told me. This year, she started working with a new coach, Karin Harjo, one of few women head coaches at the national level. She’s not trying to be locked in an ivory tower, though. In many ways, she’s turning a corner these days: less record-breaking robot, more relatable human. We’re seeing a more normalized version of Shiffrin, a flawed person who buckles under pressure just like the rest of us. Personally, I think that makes her even more likable. These days, she’s an elite athlete we can see a bit of ourselves in, versus the unbreak-able machine. Somehow, she’s still gaining joy from a sport that continuously demands more out of her, even when she’s given it everything she has. She’s finding ways to connect more with her teammates, too. “With the position I’m in, it’s not always easy to con-nect. Because I’m just kind of always on the move,” she said during our Zoom call. “But our women’s team is spectacu-lar. These last couple of seasons, I’ve been trying to show them support and connect and be a part of it. When you feel support, it’s so easy to give support back.” These days, after her run, Shiffrin will return to the athlete tent and give a course report to the other women on the U.S. Team who are starting later in the pack. “She talks about different strategies, things we can’t see,” says Allie Resnick, a 21-year-old U.S. Ski Team racer who started on the World Cup two years ago. “When people ask me what I do and I say, ‘I’m a ski racer.’ It’s always, ‘Do you know Mikaela Shiffrin?’” Adds Resnick, another former Vail kid who grew up around the Shiffrin family. “I feel proud that I get to say, ‘Yes, I do, and she’s great.’ When we’re older and her records will still be around, it’ll be amazing to say I got to ski with her.” Europeans dominate the World Cup standings in ski rac-ing. Even with Shiffrin atop the women’s overall rankings last winter, below her were a smattering of Swiss, Italian, Swedish, Austrian and Norwegian racers. But the U.S. women’s team is starting to gain more depth—American Paula Moltzen finished top 10 in the slalom standings and top 15 in the GS last year—and Shiffrin says the vibe feels different than it ever has: more camaraderie, more supportive, less competitive. “We have so many girls who are right on the cusp,” Shiffrin said. “It’s an individual sport—we’re trained to focus on our-selves. But there’s an overall atmosphere that is competitive and supportive at the same time. It’s the first time I’ve been part of a team this large with that kind of atmosphere.” While Shiffrin is loving the new dynamic, her buy-in has impact, and may someday skew the podium in the Team’s favor. My 15 minutes with Shiffrin were up, yet she was still talking. Which means at some point, out of respect for her schedule and her PR agent, I will be forced to literally inter-rupt the Greatest Skier Ever and tell her I’ve got what I need. Quickly, I congratulated her on an incredible season, and I thanked her for her time. I wanted to add, I hope you have more free time soon, that you deserve a break from all this madness, but I didn’t. I just smiled and waved goodbye. 052 The Ski Journal
The Ski Journal Volume 17, Issue 3: Page 52
