The venue, Levi in the Finnish snow region, Lapland, has earned Mikaela Shiffrin so many things. The skiing seasons here have established her at the upper echelon among all the slalom ski racers. In this venue, Shiffrin has won seven races, majorly known as the World Cup Slalom opening races. And every time, with her victory, she has earned a reindeer to commemorate her victory. Guess what? The previous time, the American ski racing legend also took away her victory here. So this time, she will step into the racing course to defend her title. But before entering that mega event this time, Shiffrin earned something priceless. 

Geographically, Levi is close to the Arctic Circle. And if you know, this is the time of the year when the Northern Lights appear in the sky of that region. But folks, you need to have a good day to witness this, as the Northern Lights and Auroras are visible only in the clear, dark sky. Mikaela Shiffrin had that lucky day recently to watch this extraordinary affair above her head. 

On November 10, the 29-year-old shared an Instagram post, keeping a snippet attached. The second-long snippet shows Shiffrin cherishing the Northern Lights above her head in Levi. As expected, the emotional rundown had been high for her. She expressed this emotion in the caption of the post. There, she penned down. “It had been a 20-year-long wish to see the northern lights. (Since I saw Balto for the first time.) And tonight, it FINALLY happened🫨😭.” However, in the snippet, she mentioned the Balto connection in detail. Another part may add something to the story. 

According to Shiffrin, she had never seen the Northern Lights before that day. Remember, the veteran ski racer is on her 15th World Cup season this time, and among those, seven times she has taken the top title in Levi Black. But surprisingly, she could never have had the option of watching this natural phenomenon in real life before this time. In the shared snippet, she recalled, “Look at it down that way now. This has been my wish for 13 years. It’s so cool! This has actually been my wish since I saw Balto.” Notably, Balto, the animated movie, was released in 1995 and has a few scenes framed on the snowy ground. 

In addition, the movie includes a few sequences with the Northern Lights in the background. However, these depictions of natural scenes diverge significantly from what occurs. Yet, this time, Mikaela Shiffrin had her chance to see it. Also, she had her mom alongside her while witnessing the magic in the sky. But here is another tea. In several customs, watching the Northern Lights before any beginning is a sign of good luck. And Mikaela Shiffrin has her assignment in the same town on November 16. Therefore, would this experience bring luck to her? Well, in her 15th World Cup season, she has a lot of tasks on her hands. 

Mikaela Shiffrin has a lot at stake 

On November 16, the World Cup Slalom season will flag off the race in Levi Black. With that, Mikaela Shiffrin will enter yet another race in her vast career. She already has 97 victories in the World Cup and 60 in the Slalom season. Both numbers are sitting pretty at the top. Furthermore, she has seven wins so far in Levi Black. The only name that can come close is Petra Vlohva. The legendary Slovak ski racer has six wins to her name in the Finnish town. That might pose a challenge to her. But is Shiffrin bothered by all those? No, she seems not. 

Rather, the two-time Olympic champion is looking forward to registering her 100 victories in the FIS Ski World Cup. But she aims to use the tag differently, not just for the sake of having the highest number of victories. In her recent interaction with Ski, Mikaela laid down, “Hopefully we (the whole sport) can use 100 as an opportunity to tell some of the stories and promote the sport in a greater way.”

She further added, “I’m, really hoping that the moment [winning her hundredth race], if it happens—and it might not happen this year, but if it does— my goal is to capitalize on that opportunity, to use that moment and kind of springboard some more interest for ski racing in the US, and help share some of the most meaningful stories that are happening in the sport.” If she wins Levi Black, she will take a step closer to the magical figure. However, she has already seen good fortune in the skies.