What does it take to bounce back from heartbreak and injury when the world’s eyes are on you? Mikaela Shiffrin was right there, on the verge of her 100th World Cup victory, racing in Killington, Vermont. The stage was set; she crushed the first run and was leading in the second. The energy? Unreal. But then, out of nowhere, it all fell apart. One mistake on the steep slope sent her crashing hard into the safety net. Instead of celebrating an epic milestone, she was being carted off on a rescue sled. Turns out, she’d suffered a deep stab wound to her abdomen.

It was so bad they couldn’t even stitch it up because of infection risks. And just when things were starting to look up, bam! Complications forced her into unexpected surgery last week. Seriously, how much can one person handle? So, what now? When will we see her back?

Mikaela Shiffrin breaks silence on missing the historic ski event!

Mikaela Shiffrin thought she’d only be out a few weeks, but this situation has thrown a wrench in her plans. Recovery is taking longer than anyone hoped, and her return to the slopes is still a big question mark. But let’s be real, this is Mikaela Shiffrin. She’s not the type to sit around and sulk. Even while recovering, she’s staying involved. During the Birds of Prey weekend, she shared her candid thoughts on women’s skiing and watched history unfold as the women raced downhill on that track for the first time.

During the FaceTime interview with Cara Banks, Mikaela Shiffrin shared her beliefs about the progress and the Birds of Prey event. As for Mikaela, at least she’s benched for now; she certainly appears to be paying attention, and, look, she’s got her concentration. When asked how she felt about not being able to make it for the history-making moment, she was as articulate and expressive as ever, and one could see how much the sport meant to her.

When Cara talked about the women racing the Birds of Prey downhill trail for the first time, Mikaela was particularly thrilled. “Yeah, it was so incredible watching yesterday,” she said, glowing with pride. “I was over-the-moon excited for Koobs, for Lauren Macuga coming down to Birds of Prey in the U.S. This is just the stuff we’ve all dreamed about for so many years.”

Shiffrin reminisced about her childhood, watching U.S. racers tackle the course when she was just 5, 6, or 7 years old. “To flash forward to now and see the women race on it—it’s just amazing,” she said. While she admitted she wished she could have been there in person, Mikaela Shiffrin was fully celebrating the historic moment, cheering along from home. But who won the Birds of Prey race?

U.S. skiers make their mark as the team looks ahead to St. Moritz

On the final day of the Stifel Birds of Prey weekend races, Lauren Macuga led the U.S. Ski Team, finishing 12th in the super-G. Also, Keely Cashman and Breezy Johnson put up solid runs in the 21st and 28th. The weather wasn’t exactly ideal, with overcast skies, wind, and light snow, but the top women’s speed skiers were still ready to give it their all. Macuga, who started with bib 3, was coming off a career-best downhill the day before, so she was feeling confident. Even though she didn’t land on the podium, she was pleased with her run, sharing, “I know if I had executed better, I would’ve been right in there.”

As the race unfolded, things heated up. Italy’s Sofia Goggia took the win with an almost half-second lead and even celebrated with a samba dance, just like Brazilian skier Lucas Pinheiro Braathen did the week before. Lara Gut-Behrami from Switzerland finished second, and Austria’s Ariane Raedler took third. Cashman, though, had a moment of her own, jumping from bib 44 to 21st, earning the $5,000 Stifel Bibbo Award.

Johnson, making her return after a year away, was happy to finish 28th and start the season with some solid points. The rest of the team—Tricia Mangan, Jackie Wiles, Bella Wright, and independent athlete Haley Cutler—finished 37th, 38th, 40th, and 42nd. Now, the team’s off to Europe to prepare for the next super-G races in St. Moritz, Switzerland. But the results wouldn’t have been the same if Mikaela Shiffrin had been part of it. Now the real question is: how long before she turns all this chaos into one of her legendary comebacks? If anyone can do it, it’s Mikaela. Don’t count her out.