Mikaela Shiffrin is going through it all on her way to history. No one could have expected what unfolded during the 2nd run of the giant slalom in Killington, while Shiffrin was out chasing her 100th World Cup win. For a few seconds, it felt like the comfort of the home snow had suddenly turned into a bed of danger that ended up coming in the way of her and the win.

The unfortunate news entails that Mikaela Shiffrin hit a gate midway down the run and slid into the protective fencing during the World Cup stop in Vermont. Thus, despite her being in the winner’s seat with a 0.32s advantage over Sara Hector after the first run, Shiffrin lost the gold and had to be taken off the mountain on a sled. While her thumbs up to the fans on site was assuring, a complete update was awaited, which has finally come in.

Mikaela Shiffrin in good spirits despite minor injury

Post the crash, the U.S. Ski Team announced that they’d taken the skier to a medical clinic for an evaluation. Only hours after, could Mikaela Shiffrin take to her social media to give her fans, who’d been on tenterhooks all the while, a somewhat relieving update. She remarked, “Not really too much cause for concern at this point, I just can’t move. I have a pretty good abrasion.” 

Apart from reassuring her fans, Shiffrin even apologized, saying, “I’m so sorry to scare everybody. It looks like all scans so far are clear. So, thank you for the support and concern. And congratulations to the winners and my teammates for their incredible performances.” She then gave shoutouts to her contemporaries who did well in the race and mentioned in her caption that she’ll be cheering from the sidelines for the next race.

For the record, this crash in Killington not only breaks on Mikaela Shiffrin’s quest for her 100th World Cup win, but also added up to the 19th DNF of her career out of 275 starts. The last time she did not finish a race was in way back in January 2018, showing how this was a minor hitch. Yet, her fans were hardly enraged over her missed shot at history. Instead, they flooded the comments with wishes that she bounce back stronger than ever.

Fans chime in with heartwarming messages for Shiffrin

Shiffrin’s supporters were naturally relieved that she put up a video of herself while being nursed post the fall. One of them wrote, “Thanks for taking the time to give us an update, hoping it’s nothing major, we’re rooting for you.” Naturally, there would have been great speculation ahead of the Sunday slalom race, for it is Shiffrin’s signature event. Imagine, she has won six slaloms in Killington alone. Thus, fans were not wrong about wanting to know her condition for the event.

But when Mikaela Shiffrin announced her abrasion and that she’d be sitting out the Sunday race, another one of her fans wrote, “oh man that’s crazy!! but better than a break or tear. take it easy champ 🖖” Despite the terrifying fall, the skier got away with a minor injury, which was extremely fortunate. In fact, in her entire career, Shiffrin has not been as unlucky with severe injuries as others have.

Over a 14-year-long run, she’s gone to rehab just twice, once in December 2015 after she had a torn MCL and a bone brushing in her right knee. The other time was in January 2024, to treat the sprained MCL and tibiofibular ligament in her left knee. Yet, one of her fans looked concerned for her, “Gosh that looks so painful! Get well!”

Nonetheless, Mikaela Shiffrin’s positive attitude won over her fans. Even when the world awaited her update, the U.S. Ski and Snowboard had remarked, “More info to come, but take solace in the fact that she asked about her splits.” And as seen in the video, she kept congratulating the winners despite not being able to move herself, which won the fans over.

One of them said, “On the hospital bed you think about congratulating your opponents, that’s world class!” But this effort was hardly one-sided. While Shiffrin’s evaluation results were yet to come in, Lindsey Vonn, her American teammate posted, “Hope @MikaelaShiffrin is OK 🙏🙏.’ Even Sara Hector, the GS winner from Vermont showed concern, “It’s just so sad, of course, to see Mikaela crash like that and skiing so well. It breaks my heart and everybody else here.”

People were also momentarily upset for today could have been the day when she touched the historic 100-win mark. Having broken Ingemar Stenmark’s record of 87 wins way back, she would have been aloof on that high mount. However, they did not weigh her down. Instead, her fans encouraged Shiffrin that she comes first, above all record chances.

A fan exclaimed, “Thank God, @MikaelaShiffrin is going to be okay! That was one helluva scary tumble on the last run of the day. You could literally hear a pin drop on the mountain when it happened! #100 will have to wait a bit but IT WILL COME as sure as the sun will rise tomorrow ✌️❤️⛷️🙏🏼”

However, due to multiple reasons, it looks like Mikaela Shiffrin’s 100 is about to be pushed back significantly. For one, those hoping to see her and the world’s top female skiers battle it out next week in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, are appearing out of luck. This is because the Quebec World Cup stop was recently canceled because the weather over the past few days had not been cold enough and thus, the necessary amount of snowfall didn’t happen.

Yet, that and the injury give Shiffrin plenty of time to rest and recover. As another one of her fans assures, “Your health is our main concern. Take all rest you need ❤️‍🩹” When and where do you think Shiffrin will complete her well-deserved 100? Let us know your predictions below!