Alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin recently reflected on her journey as she officially qualified for the Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina next year. The 31-year-old skier qualified for the quadrennial event despite finishing 14th in the Copper Mountain Giant Slalom a couple of days ago.
Shiffrin had battled a horrifying crash, a major surgery following the health complications after the collision, to make it to her fourth Winter Olympics.
Mikaela Shiffrin Shares Snaps From Recovery After Surgery As Fiance Aleksander Kilde Supports Her
Shiffrin shared photographs and short reels on Instagram documenting her recovery, focusing on her surgical scars. For the uninitiated, Shiffrin had undergone surgery to clean the deep puncture wound in her abdomen, which developed following a severe crash she suffered in Killington, Vermont, around the latter half of 2024.
Shiffrin shared her transformation experience as she wrote in the caption of her Instagram post,
“What a difference a year makes. At the time, it was hard to feel progress day-to-day… but looking back now it’s so clear. Feeling very thankful right now.💛 Can’t say I miss Allen though!😅”
READ MORE: Mikaela Shiffrin’s Mom Opens Up on ‘Crazy’ Thanksgiving Week as Her 104th Win and Aleksander Kilde’s Comeback Steal the Spotlight
Norwegian skier Aleksander Kilde couldn’t help but show immense support for his courageous fiancée. He sent an affectionate emoji for the skier in the comment section of Shiffrin’s Instagram post.
Shiffrin Hopes to Make A Strong Comeback At Milano Cortina 2026
Shiffrin previously shared her thoughts about competing at the Winter Olympics. In an interview with the Olympics website, the 30-year-old alpine skier mentioned that she didn’t want to take a spot that she didn’t deserve in the first place. In her words,
“So I love it, and even if I don’t race it at the Olympics, it’s not out of the cards for me as a whole. Maybe it’s just one of those things that the timing doesn’t line up. One thing about the Games that I’m always really aware of, and especially this year, because we have an incredible (U.S.) team of athletes, multiple medal contenders. I don’t want to be taking a spot that I don’t earn and deserve to be there.”
Shiffrin had previously participated in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. The alpine skier’s best performance was a fourth-place finish in the combined team event.
Shiffrin’s Performance At The Winter Olympics
Shiffrin burst onto the Olympic stage at just 18 years old in the 2014 Sochi Games, where she won gold in the Slalom and became one of the youngest champions in the event’s history.
She carried that success into the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics, adding another gold in the giant slalom and a silver in the combined, further cementing her place among the sport’s greats.
