In 2024, Mikaela Shiffrin and her fiancé, Aleksander Kilde, faced significant challenges. Both crashed during downhill races earlier this year. However, Kilde’s accident was more severe, leaving him with a dislocated shoulder, a calf laceration, and multiple health issues that required immediate surgery and rehabilitation. While Shiffrin is ready to make her comeback after a year-long recovery, Kilde will still need more time to fully heal.

Nonetheless, the 5x World Cup overall champion, Shiffrin recently opened up on how the couple managed to navigate through the trying time. Speaking to Eurosport, she confessed, “It’s been a challenging process since he crashed. It’s been a lot of little moments that are actually very life-threatening, they become really big moments and kind of life-consuming moments.” Well, this is plausible as after the Wengen crash, Kilde had to be airlifted. He lost consciousness for a while and hit the ‘lowest of the lows’ in life. Imagine, there was a time when he had no sensation in his leg and he lost control over his toes.

Nonetheless, Shiffrin acknowledges that the initial injury phase allowed them to spend quality time together over the summer. The couple was seen attending the F1 Grand Prix in Monaco and vacationing in Mexico. During this time, Aleksander had made significant progress in his recovery and even returned to training. However, in July, he faced a setback when an infection sent him back to the hospital. The infection caused complications that delayed his recovery, requiring six weeks of IV antibiotics administered through a PICC line in his arm.

Recalling how big of a bummer that was, Mikaela Shiffrin added, “And the very end, in July, I was gonna go skiing, and then he was gonna actually also go skiing. And that’s when we found this infection. And the whole plans changed and now, I haven’t seen him for almost three months. ” This is something that she finds extremely tough. She says, “It’s sad not to see the person you love for that long…” Especially when she knows the challenges Aleksander has been going through.

She cites how Aleksander is not able to do the basic things that an athlete is supposed to, which has not just caused him physical discomfort but also been a mental battle. He is advised not to stress his body too much, or move beyond necessity, and needs to keep changing his diet. Basically, do nothing that is not good for the infection. And while she is happy that he is doing okay, there is a part of her that is “really looking forward to seeing him.”

Aleksander Kilde misses his wonder-woman Mikaela Shiffrin

Recently, Aleksander Kilde posted a string of picture with Mikaela Shiffrin and penned a sweet caption, justifying that the long-distance might be hitting him a little too hard. He wrote, “It’s been a minute since I saw this wonderful woman,” exhibiting just how dearly he misses her.

Shiffrin’s life has been quite fast-paced lately. Although she likely left for Europe in early October, she had a busy September, attending the Paris Olympics in the French capital, New York Fashion Week, and the US Open. Just last week, she made an appearance at the Stifel U.S. Ski Team’s Atomic Media Day event, where she discussed various topics, including how much she has been missing Aleksander.

Starting on October 26, Mikaela Shiffrin will return to the slopes in Sölden, competing until March 27 when the 2024-25 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup concludes in Sun Valley. This marks a long period of separation that the couple will need to navigate before they can reunite.