Winter Youth Olympics: 16-Year-Old Inspired by Mikaela Shiffrin Narrates How She Changed Her Life

Mikaela Shiffrin has sealed her status among the best in alpine skiing. With the most World Cup wins in the world, she continues to inspire throngs of newcomers to the fold. 16-year-old German skier Romy Ertl has some of the best advice coming from her mother, the three-time Olympic medalist Martina Ertl. Even after that, it is hard for her to escape the influences of Shiffrin when it comes to skiing. In a recent interview, Ertl was heard talking about how Mikaela’s life and legacy have left a lasting impression on her journey.

Ertl is at the center of the limelight with her upcoming debut in the Winter Youth Olympics. The teen, who as a 10-year-old, wanted to be the “best one in Germany”, is hoping to live up to her dreams, with a little help from the iconic record-setting Shiffrin along the way.

Mikaela Shiffrin’s advice to ski past others

In a recent interview with Olympics.com, Ertl said that her career is guided by the best experts. Her mother Martina remains her first inspiration. But she can not brush aside the larger-than-life Mikaela Shiffrin. “Mikaela Shiffrin, for me, is a role model“, acknowledged the young skier in the interview without any hesitation. If looking up to the legend wasn’t enough, Ertl also got the chance to learn from the best when she met Shiffrin.

“It was pretty cool“, recalled the young Youth Olympics dreamer about the meeting and said that she watches Shiffrin’s videos diligently to learn new things with the hopes of improving her own skills through the process. Ertl also mentioned Shiffrin as being a kind person who gave her some solid advice on how to become one of the greatest skiers in the world. However, like a true sportsperson, Shiffrin also asked Ertl to watch out for the other iconic skiers as well.

Ertl said, “She said to me, ‘Don’t just look at me, but also at Federica Brignone or Petra Vlhova, to observe their techniques and learn something from everybody, picking up the pieces you can incorporate into your skiing.’” With handholding from the best of the business, Ertl harbors big dreams for her future.

Romy’s eyes are set beyond the Winter Youth Olympics

Ertl aims to make her mark in her first Youth Olympics itself. “…when I’m skiing, it feels like I’m flying a little bit,” said Ertl, and it looks like she’s determined to soar above the others in Gangwon, Korea. “My dreams are to get better and better“, said Romy, who believes in hard work to materialize her goals. However, her horizon does not lie here.

Read more: Mikaela Shiffrin Admits Her Heart Is Not In Skiing After 94 Wins At Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup

“Of course, there is a big dream to participate in the big Olympics one day, or the World Championships, or in general, to enter the World Cup. I will try my best, and then we will see,” quips the teen. Seems like she is already on her way to making her wish of becoming the best a reality.

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