“How Am I Supposed to Know That?”: Despite being one of the greatest skiers of all time, Mikaela Shiffrin acknowledges that she is unsure about her legacy.

Mikaela Shiffrin has been receiving inquiries about her legacy since she was a teenager, and in the first episode of her new podcast “What’s the Point,” which will be released in October 2025, she discussed the confusion surrounding this continuous inquiry.

Sitting down with her fiancé, Aleksander Kilde, the renowned American skier confessed that, despite her tremendous accomplishments and record-breaking performances across all disciplines of alpine skiing, she still struggles to articulate what her own legacy truly means.

What is Mikaela Shiffrin’s perspective on her “legacy”?

When the subject went to legacy, Shiffrin was open about her long-standing misunderstanding of what people were asking her. She recalls being asked this question when she was only 17 or 18 years old, and her response was a mix of surprise and confusion.

“I’m 18. “How should I know that?” Even at 30, Shiffrin said she is still unable to deliver a satisfying explanation. “And I’m thirty now. “And I’m not sure how to answer that question,” she told Kilde.

Rather than trying to define legacy for herself, Shiffrin has spent years listening to how those around her perceive the term. “So it’s mostly about hearing other people’s definitions of legacy. “And there’s so many interesting answers,” she remarked, highlighting the diverse opinions on the topic.

Some people believe that legacy is primarily about exhibiting unwavering passion for something that truly delights a person. “Your legacy is just showing the world how passionate you can be about something that really lights you up,” she explained, reflecting on one interpretation that struck a chord with her.

Significantly from this vision. “Your legacy can include charity efforts. “It can be a variety of things,” she said, acknowledging that legacy goes far beyond athletic accomplishments and honors on the slopes.

Shiffrin defines legacy as the entirety of a person’s life choices and how they treat people around them. “It might be how you exist in the world. “Treating people with kindness,” she continued.

Shiffrin’s most important understanding about legacy was that it is not a set idea, but rather an ongoing process that lasts one’s entire life. “Your legacy is something you build over time.” “It’s an ongoing process,” she stated.

This made her question the fundamental logic of asking someone to define their legacy when they are still alive and developing it. “That’s why I never understood the question, because how can you talk about your legacy when you’re still living?”

Shiffrin’s Impressive Career

She was born in Colorado in 1995 and has established herself as one of history’s best alpine skiers, breaking records that appeared unreachable at the time. She holds the record for the most World Cup victories by any alpine skier with 101, including 64 in slalom and 22 in giant slalom.

At the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, Shiffrin won Olympic gold in slalom at the age of 18, becoming the youngest Olympic slalom champion in history. She has won the World Cup overall five times and is the most successful American alpine skier in the World Championships, with 15 medals, including eight golds.

Kilde, her fiancé, is a world-class alpine skier from Norway. He was born in 1992 and competes in top speed events. The couple met at a World Cup event in Chile in 2014, but their romance did not develop quickly. The turning point came in February 2021, after Shiffrin’s father died, when Kilde reached out via Instagram with his condolences.

Their conversation progressed throughout 2021, and by autumn, they had started dating officially. The pair confirmed their engagement on April 4, 2024. Kilde won the World Cup overall title in 2020 and won Olympic medals in super-G and alpine combined at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games.