“Will Not Be The Same”: Mikaela Shiffrin Heartbroken; Rival Petra Vlhova’s Untimely Exit From Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup 2023/24

The Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup is the cynosure of all eyes for the Alpine skiing world. Mikaela Shiffrin started the event with a brilliant performance finishing second in the giant slalom, while Sweden’s Sara Hector took the first place. While Shiffrin couldn’t be happier with her run, she seems to be more engulfed with the injury of Petra Vlhova’s at the moment.

Shiffrin is currently not having the best time of her life with her boyfriend Aleksander Kilde suffering from a shoulder injury recently. With that in mind, understandably, the world’s most successful alpine skier of all time is shaken by her colleague’s latest ordeal. In her recent social media post, Shiffrin celebrated the giant slalom but had to take a moment to check up on her friend as well, thereby also giving her ample time to get her game and act together and more robust to rival that of Shiffrin’s.

Mikaela Shiffrin’s professional nemesis receives a jubilant wish

In her latest Instagram post, Shiffrin shared images from the Slovakian mountains after the slalom race. Shiffrin hailed the attendees at Jasna for their courage to brave the harsh weather conditions. “Jasna: thank you for your enthusiasm and love“, wrote Shiffrin in the post, and said that the crowd staying till the end gave her more willpower to struggle through the hurdles to secure yet another World Cup podium finish.

The slalom saw the formidable Swede Sara Hector end a 2-year draught, earning a rare victory over Shiffrin yesterday. However, Shiffrin looked more than happy to have conceded her otherwise top spot and wrote, “...all I could do was just sit back and simply enjoy watching it.“, after calling Hector’s skiing “out of the world“. However, the event felt less exciting for Shiffrin with Petra out, and she didn’t forget to wish Vlhova a speedy recovery, either.

“…the sport will not be the same without your energy, beautiful skiing, and our battles“, quipped the two-time Olympic gold medalist. Vlhova met with a season-ending knee injury, which will keep her out of the action for some time to come. With the Slovakian out, Shiffrin might be feeling the thrill a bit less, given the prolonged history between the two.

A decade-long rivalry simmers down

Shiffrin and Vlhova have had a long and intense rivalry that spans over a decade after the two debuted in the sport’s elite series in 2012. Petra also acknowledged previously that they’ve known each other since they were young, making their rivalry seem like a sort of friendly banter between two buddies. Vlhova even begets their rivalry, as it fuels them and acts a blessing in disguise.

Read more: Brutally Injured With Dislocated Shoulder, Mikaela Shiffrin’s Hospitalized Boyfriend Finds Support Amid Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup 2023/24

Vlhova is Shiffrin’s biggest rival in the giant slalom and Shiffrin can’t wait to resume their race to the top and continue to push each other to bring out the best in them. “The rivalry between Mikaela and I started when we were young and I still have pictures of us in the junior races,” proclaims Vlhova. As the saying goes – “ if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” rings true here.

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