“Struggle To Imagine Even Racing”: Injured Mikaela Shiffrin Breaks Silence On Good, Bad and Ugly Expectations Of 89th Win At Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup 2023/24

Mikaela Shiffrin, the current owner of 89 career wins, has come a long way in her alpine skiing career. From the tough moments of dealing with her father’s loss to getting her first DNF, the 28-year-old had dealt with everything. However, her strong will to come back and snatch the wins gets commended by fans time and again.

At the recent Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup 2023/24, the alpine skiing GOAT topped the podium with her 54th slalom title win. Crediting Petra Vlhova for keeping her on her toes, Shiffrin skied past the top contenders to grab her 7th reindeer. Having said so, her journey from landing in Levi to the final slalom day wasn’t smooth. And her unpredictable left knee injury is the one to blame. But no hardship can look the athlete in the eyes.

Mikaela Shiffrin sheds light on her struggles

FIS Alpine took an interview with Shiffrin, which Euro Sport posted on their Instagram handle. After her prolific win after a nail-biting competition, the 28-year-old couldn’t hold her tears back. When said, “Maybe you were struggling a little bit these days, and it is an important victory anyhow”, the Olympian completed the sentence with her voice almost breaking.

She said, “I have a good mindset to fight stuff and after the last 10 days, it’s been a little bit of a struggle to imagine even racing. So, this is…this means a lot. My whole team, everything they did to help me get here.” Giving a great deal of credit to the US Ski Team and her fellow skiers to help her grace the slopes again, Mikaela Shiffrin revealed her kind side.

Her left knee ‘bone bruise’ hit her hard last week. While on a training run, a tumble caused the injury and the US medical staff and several Finland medical professionals hopped in to help. With immense love and support, the 28-year-old started slow. She also said, “We’ve been taking it easy and strategically building back into load, skiing, and finally some gates.”

But after her well-deserved win, her fans couldn’t keep calm. Especially her mother. Eileen Shiffrin penned a long heartfelt note to honor her daughter’s “never give up” spirit, while also remembering her husband Jeff.

Shiffrin’s mother’s tribute notes

Congratulating the US Ski Team and celebrating her fighter daughter’s victory, Eileen shared a post on her Instagram. She wrote, “So proud of Mikaela and this team for pushing through a tough block with so much courage, grit, patience, tenacity and hard work.” Moreover, she also spoke a little about the past week’s struggles and how Miki had her luck favored on November 12.

About Vlhova, she said, “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.” So, while expressing grief for Petra’s DNF, she also thanked the universe for the Slovakian skier’s mid-game upset. Lastly, she wrote, “It’s going to come together and it will be fun to watch, so stay tuned! Let’s go team!”

READ MORE: “Absolutely Gorgeous”: Skiing Royalty Mikaela Shiffrin Breaks the Internet With a Timeless Update

One thing Shiffrin would always carry with her in the competitions; was her father’s motivational quotes. Losing him in February 2020 was not only a hard blow on her emotional self but also an almost career-ending decision.

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