Last season, the winningest alpine skier in history was on track to reach the 100 World Cup race wins milestone. However, in January, Mikaela Shiffrin never thought she would crash out spectacularly on a routine move during the downhill race at Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. With the FIS Skiing World Cup 2024-25 season fast approaching, Alberto Tomba reminded the American of her own words.

While she couldn’t achieve it during the 2023-24 season, Shiffrin should have little trouble reaching the 100-win milestone this year. “Congratulations to her,” Tomba said in advance. “She is ‘special’ (slalom translates as ‘slalom speciale’ or ‘speciale’ in Italian) in both slalom and giant slalom,” he added but also had a word of caution for the five-time overall champion.

“However, doing downhill skiing when you’re physically tired is risky. She had an injury and had to stop,” the three-time Olympic gold medalist told Olympics.com. The 57-year-old Olympic Order winner’s words echoed Shiffrin’s own dig at the FIS. During her remarkable comeback race in Åre after just six weeks of recovery, Mikaela Shiffrin highlighted the issue with activity.

“I absolutely believe that fatigue at this point in the season plays a role in the injuries we have seen lately, including my own.” the 28-year-old said. The Olympic gold medalist subtly blamed the hectic FIS scheduling that took a toll on competitors a few months into the season. Alpine skiing is an incredibly taxing sport, and overactivity leads to fatigue and mistakes.

It was one of those mistakes during the high-speed downhill race in Cortina d’Ampezzo that messed up Mikaela Shiffrin’s knee. The champion made a botched landing and only the safety nets stood between her and what could’ve been a far worse injury. Team USA later revealed more details of the season-derailing injury on X.

Thankfully the the crash look worse than it was. Shiffrin had sprained her MCL and tibiofibular ligament, while her ACL and PCL remained intact. “At this point, I’m just taking it day by day… Very thankful it’s not worse,” the athlete who has won 97 World Cup races posted on social media. However, few expected the Americans to make such a quick recovery.

Mikaela Shiffrin showcased incredible resilience

Despite suffering a high-speed crash and ligament injuries, the three-time Olympic medalist was back on the podium by March. Although ligaments take far longer to heal than muscles, the alpine skiing legend wanted to make a statement in Åre, Sweden. Shiffrin returned for the Slalom, one of her specialties, and walked away with gold in her 8th title in the event.

Following her victory, Mikaela Shiffrin thanked her team. “I’m really proud of my whole team and for sure proud of myself to get back here,” the five-time overall champion told the media. However, her concerns about the density of events have seemingly gone under the radar. The upcoming season features frequent traveling and some of the steepest slopes in the world.

The FIS World Cup season starts on October 26 and ends on March 27. The end of the season is jam-packed with events. The Alpine Ski World Championships Finals and Season Finale will barely have a month separating them. Maybe that’s why the Italian skiing icon has warned Mikaela Shiffrin ahead of the season. After all, the alpine skiing GOAT is on the cusp of making history yet again, and everyone is rooting for Shiffrin.