U.S. ski star Shiffrin aims to be on top of the world
The world’s best ski racer is coming to Lake Tahoe this week. Her name is Mikaela Shiffrin. But friends call her “Miki.”
Shiffrin has dominated the World Cup circuit this season, racking up a string of victories that could deliver an overall championship for the American skier. She’s in the lead for that title with only two race stops left on the calendar.
Lucky for us, one of those stops is at Squaw Valley next weekend, when the resort will host its first World Cup racing since 1969. For Bay
Area skiers and sports fans, this is a rare opportunity to see the world’s best on the historic slopes that hosted the 1960 Olympics.
It would be hard to imagine a better situation for the U.S. ski establishment. Shiffrin, 21, has emerged as the face of the sport, alongside her legendary teammate Lindsey Vonn. The addition of Squaw Valley, along with a stop in Killington, Vt., earlier this year, was intended to showcase that talent and shine more light on a sport that draws little attention in the States.
“I think it is a game-changer for World Cup skiing to have races in the U.S. at all, but especially when the races are held at such amazing resorts like Squaw Valley,” said Shiffrin, via email from the tour’s stop in South Korea last week. “Squaw gets to showcase its great terrain and ski conditions, and the World Cup gets more access to the American fan base, which is hopefully growing more and more with the increase of races stateside.”
We’ll see about the long-term gains. But you can count on big crowds and big smiles at Squaw Valley, where Shiffrin will run her two signature disciplines — the giant slalom on Friday, then the slalom on Saturday — both under Squaw’s Red Dog lift. This year’s epic snowfall should offer optimal conditions for both.
If everything comes together, Shiffrin will take one step closer to becoming the third U.S. woman to win an overall World Cup title, joining Vonn and Tamara McKinney.
By next year’s Winter Olympics, to be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Miki Shiffrin should be a household name.
Mikaela Shiffrin was born in Vail, Colo., a fitting spot for a future ski champ. Her parents, Eileen and Jeff, were racers. So was her older brother Taylor.
The family bounced between Colorado and New Hampshire during her early years, surrounded by mountains and ski culture. She started skiing in the family driveway, but soon graduated to the real thing.
“I learned to ski in Vail,” said Shiffrin, amiable and with minimal ego. “My parents taught my brother and me from the beginning, and we used to ski together as a family a lot. The first time I ever skied in a real course was when I was 6 years old and that was when I really developed a passion for the sport of ski racing specifically.”
By the time she was 15, Shiffrin had made a splash in the U.S. nationals. At 16, she debuted on the global World Cup circuit. She won her first race, in Sweden, at 17. At 18, she became the sport’s youngest gold medalist in history, winning the slalom at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
In many ways, Shiffrin’s career ascent has been as fast as her course descent. And she’s just getting started.
“I love how measurable it is,” said Shiffrin, who practiced at Squaw last spring. “I love that you can compare your times from run to run and try to find consistency in something that is so impacted by variability — between weather, different snow conditions, different courses, different mountains. You almost never find the same kind of race.
“But the premise always remains the same: Get to the finish faster than everyone else.”
That last part is Shiffrin’s specialty. She’s a natural skill skier, dominating the slalom and giant slalom disciplines using superior technique and a fluid style. Recently, she began competing in the World Cup’s speed events — the super GS and downhill — with an eye toward competing in all alpine events at next year’s Olympics.
If you throw in the “combined” title at the Olympics, Shiffrin could be in the running for five medals. But that’s a long way off in the ski world, where injury and setbacks are only a run away. Just this year, Shiffrin’s primary competitor for the overall title, Switzerland’s Lara Gut, went down with a torn ACL.
In typical Shiffrin fashion, the U.S. skier tweeted: “There's a huge pit in my stomach hearing about @Laragut’s injury. Wishing her a speedy recovery. #comebackstronger.”
Like many modern-day athletes, social media plays a big role in Shiffrin’s daily life — and image.
She has nearly 300,000 followers on Instagram, and thousands more on her Twitter and Facebook feeds. The pictures and video she shares center on her ski career, as can be expected. But a string of dance videos show a different side of Shiffrin. Her goofy side.
One of her many sponsors, Red Bull, aggregated a number of the hilarious clips, showing Shiffrin and her teammates lip-syncing to Adele songs and performing dance routines — in the gym, on the slopes, in the parking lot, or wherever.
It’s great stuff, revealing a fun-loving kid who’s on the road all year. It’s a jet-set lifestyle that brings plenty of loneliness, too. Through videos and FaceTime and social media, Shiffrin finds a way to let off steam and stay in touch with her friends and fans.
“It's not the easiest thing, managing my personal life while competing in a sport that requires so much time spent away from home and away from my family and friends,” said Shiffrin. “The way I see it is that I have an amazing opportunity right now with my skiing that I feel obligated to capitalize on, and that means sometimes I sacrifice things in my personal life in order to give myself the best shot in skiing.”
From the look of things, Shiffrin has her head on right, maximizing her potential and enjoying the ride. And now the road leads to Lake Tahoe, where Miki hopes to cement her place as one of the sport’s greats.
“I definitely dreamed about being the best ski racer in the world,” said Shiffrin, who has more World Cup wins than the great Ingemar Stenmark had at her age. “I was never certain that I could actually do it, but that has always been my biggest dream and that is what I have been working toward my entire career.”
Now consider this: Shiffrin turns 22 on Monday.