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A22 sports
Monday 25 March 2019

Mikaela in Manhattan: Shiffrin scripts marvelous ski season

By MELISSA MURPHY They thought about taper-
AP Sports Writer ing Eileen’s travel schedule
NEW YORK (AP) — Mikaela before the season, but the
Shiffrin generally whizzes successes kept her on the
past mountain gates at road.
80 mph. She had a much “She’s family, that uncon-
harder time maneuvering ditional love,” Shiffrin said.
through the crowd at Ma- “She’s only there for me. It’s
cy’s. not like her salary rides on
The 24-year-old skier arrived my success. Her happiness
in Manhattan to celebrate rides on my happiness. I’m
the end of a record-setting happiest when I’m able to
season, which included an ski my best.”
unprecedented 17 World Eileen was her study partner
Cup wins and her third when Mikaela was home-
straight overall title. Lindsey schooled the last two years
Vonn won four overall titles of high school, which al-
before she retired this sea- lowed her to travel on the
son at the age of 34. World Cup circuit during
Shiffrin returned from the the winter at age 16 after
Pyrenees mountains — af- attending Burke Mountain
ter a brief visit to Barcelona Academy in Vermont.
with her French boyfriend “My mom is the most driven
and skier Mathieu Faivre — person I’ve ever known,
for a meet and greet with but she’s driven about the
fans at the watch counter things she cares about. So
at Macy’s on Thursday for I think people often look at
sponsor Longines. her and they just assume
“It was a little bit, where that she has pushed me.
am I going?” she said with Yeah, she pushes me in the
a laugh about the flagship sense that she keeps me on
store. track. My parents were al-
Shiffrin had no such prob- ways helping me be a bet-
lems on the slopes this sea- ter skier.”
son. LOW RISK
She is the first skier — male Shiffrin has had a relatively
or female — to win World Mikaela Shiffrin responds to questions during a news interview Thursday, March 21, 2019, in New injury-free career, in part
Cup discipline titles in sla- York. because her team is selec-
lom, giant slalom and su- Associated Press tive about scheduling rac-
per-G, plus the overall title grandmother and settle in between races, it’s my “lay down a really good es so she gets enough rest
in one season. She broke into a new house in Colo- only block of training. run.” She called it “the most and training while avoiding
the women’s record and rado. They’re figuring out the fun I’d had in a race for a high-risk situations. That also
tied the men’s record for Shiffrin competes mostly in logistics, do we fly here, long time.” makes her one of the “best
most slalom wins with 40. Europe during the ski sea- drive there, where do we That win set the tone for a prepared on the circuit.”
She is the youngest skier to son and enjoys relative go, what’s the best condi- remarkable season. “With every minor injury I’ve
reach 50 World Cup wins anonymity back in the U.S. tions? Do we need to send “I thought, if I could keep had, I’ve learned a lot from
and now has 60. But that may change with somebody ahead of time this ‘high standards, but no it,” she said.
Not bad for an American the retirement of Vonn and to inject the slopes so the expectations’ kind of mind- While injury can be “part
skier who at age 6 told her given Shiffrin’s record wins, snow is hard enough when set for the rest of the sea- of the sport,” Shiffrin said it
parents she wanted to be prize money and endorse- I arrive? They are on top of son, then I think it’s going to doesn’t need to keep her
the best in the world. ments. She is featured in a that all the time.” be really good. That was a “out of the sport for a ma-
She crouched in the snow TV commercial for Barilla Three years ago, she enlist- huge piece of it.” jority of my career.”
cradling the giant slalom with tennis star Roger Fe- ed coach Mike Day, who It translated into improved UP NEXT
crystal globe after clinch- derer. she said has had a “calm- skiing, confidence and gi- She asked her team not to
ing that title for the first time Fallon called Shiffrin “the ing effect” compared with ant slalom turns “faster rest on her laurels and to
on March 17, four days af- most dominant skier on the some “very intense coach- than anyone else can do.” “stay on top, keep work-
ter her birthday. planet.” es in the past.” He’s “even- Weather and course con- ing. There’s always this driv-
“I’m most proud of the GS Here are more things to keeled” and helps “block ditions are constant vari- ing force, don’t stop now,
globe,” Shiffrin said. “This know about Shiffrin, whose out the noise.” ables. don’t get complacent.”
year, I had some break- parents were both ski rac- BREAKTHROUGHS “The races I won this year, At this rate, Shiffrin could
through moments with gi- ers: An early season victory in maybe I had to fight for it or approach the record of
ant slalom. Winning the TEAM EFFORT December in the super-G maybe I just skied a lot bet- 86 World Cup wins held
final race was one of the Shiffrin knows her level of — her first in that discipline— ter and I earned it. That’s a by Swedish great Ingemar
more emotional moments.” success takes a village of at Lake Louise in Canada special kind of feeling. My Stenmark. Vonn finished
She made the media support, including her fam- was key to launching her GS is definitely on a differ- with 82 wins.
rounds in New York and ily, coaches, trainers and successful season, Shiffrin ent level.” “Skiing has given me so
taught Jimmy Fallon the conditioning experts. said. She’d had no super- MOTHER LODE much joy and so many in-
shuffle dance during an “When it comes down to G training since ski camp in Her mother, Eileen, is a credible experiences in
appearance on “The To- race day, we don’t leave Chile three months earlier. coach, video analyst, hill life,” she said.
night Show.” She will get a it to chance and we don’t A slalom and giant slalom inspector, travel compan- “I owe it to the sport itself to
two-week break and spend leave it to luck,” she said. technical racer, her goal ion and all-around guiding be the best that I can and
time with her 97-year-old “We only have three days was to “just enjoy it” and force. push it to a new limit.”q