After Watching Devastated Mikaela Shiffrin Almost Quit, Legend’s Mother Makes Up for Late-Father’s Absence With Heartwarming Tribute to Daughter’s First Win at Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup 2023/24

The most decorated skier in the alpine skiing history, Mikaela Shiffrin, makes her season starter mark in Levi. As the slalom women’s event of the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup 2023/24 kicked off, the skiers girded up. After a nail-biting slalom second day, it’s Shiffrin who stands atop again. And there’s only one person behind the win, her mother.

After acknowledging “Slalom is good for the soul”, the 28-year-old Olympian clinched her 6th reindeer after almost giving it up to her Slovakia counterpart. But as the game progressed, tables turned, with Vlhova getting a DNF and Shiffrin finishing with 55.00. Later, the overall standings declared the latter as the slalom title holder with 1:51:68. Having said that, the world started celebrating since. But nobody is above her parents.

Mikaela Shiffrin’s mother pens a heartfelt note for her winner daughter

Eileen Shiffrin, the Olympian’s mother’s support for her daughter, knows no bounds. On a similar note, she took to her Instagram handle to post the triumphant moment. Captioned as “So proud of Mikaela and this team for pushing through a tough block with so much courage, grit, patience, tenacity and hard work. Especially big thanks to Regan Dewhirst for putting Mikaela back together after her big crash and managing the injury so brilliantly.”

She further said, “We had some bad luck almost two weeks ago, but then Miki was on the right side of luck yesterday with Petra’s straddle in the middle of a blistering fast run, handing Miki her 89th WC win.” Though the older Shiffrin praised Paula Moltazan, she also wished for a better performance from her. 

Also, both mother and daughter’s “Never give up,” attitude helps them sail through smoothly. It not only reflected in Eileen’s post but also in her daughter’s, when she announced her “bone bruise”. The sudden left knee injury of ‘Miki’ left the family concerned, but their hopes never extinguished. Eileen Shiffrin concluded her note with “Let’s go team!”, with optimistic eyes.

With her latest slalom title clinch, the 28-year-old currently stands with 54 slalom victories, 139 career podiums and 89 career wins. Though she could perform in her mother’s presence, her dad would have been prouder today. As perfect as he was, his daughter felt “endless sadness” after his passing.

Miki’s dad was her inspiration

On February 2, 2020, Jeff Shiffrin passed away in a tragic accident. The world looked foggy to the Olympian then, and she went through the toughest 2020-21 World Cup season. While the Olympian was busy with a Sports Illustrated shoot, her father was being rushed to the hospital. Later, his death news hit Shiffrin so hard that she almost quit her sport.

Eileen said, “She was so devastated. She couldn’t stop crying.” The father-daughter duo mainly bonded over music and skiing. Both she and Taylor Shiffrin took up the sport early, and for the GOAT, the golds just followed. His immense support in highs and his main mantra ‘Focus’ in lows had kept Mikaela Shiffrin going. From getting the perfect angle for snapshots to getting teary-eyed at his daughter’s win, Jeff was the best she could ask for. On a Father’s Day occasion, she had said, “It’s not like this day, Father’s Day, is really anymore emotional. Because I can’t miss him more than I already do on a daily basis.”

READ MORE: Mikaela Shiffrin’s Celebrations Marred by Rival Petra Vlhova at Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup 2023/24

Now, as the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup 2023/24 has two more disciplines to go, her father would be proud of her star daughter. Not because she is on her winning streak, but because she could pull herself back up.

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