Mikaela Shiffrin achieves a World Cup podium record, finishing third in a slalom won by Katharina Truppe

Are, Sweden (AP) — Mikaela Shiffrin set an all-time World Cup record on Sunday by finishing on the podium for the 156th time, despite losing the slalom race.

Shiffrin finished third, 0.19 seconds behind surprise winner Katharina Truppe, despite being just 25th-fastest on the second run.

Katharina Liensberger finished second, 0.05 points behind her Austrian compatriot, who won her first career World Cup at the age of 29.

“Katharina Day!” Shiffrin remarked at the finish area, hugging the two cyclists who had beaten her.

“I actually feel pretty good about it,” Shiffrin said of her fifth slalom race since her devastating incident in November. “I maybe wasn’t always perfect but I was pushing really hard.”

Shiffrin’s 156th top-3 finish in her World Cup career broke a tie with Swedish legend Ingemar Stenmark. Shiffrin also surpassed Stenmark’s all-time victory total, currently at 100 to his 86.

Truppe currently has one from her 181st World Cup start, but she also has three championship medals, including the team event gold at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

“It’s simply, ‘Wow.’ “I’m a little speechless,” said Truppe, who finished sixth quickest in the morning run, 0.91 seconds behind Shiffrin. “First triumph, it’s insane. I’m going to embrace it and absorb in all of this emotion.”

Truppe and Shiffrin are both 29 years old and earned slalom bronze medals at the junior world championships, despite having had quite different careers. Shiffrin won her medal at the age of 15 in 2011, and she already had two World Cup slalom crowns and Olympic gold before Truppe’s junior worlds win in 2015.

Shiffrin needed to win on Sunday to gain 100 race points and remain in contention for a tenth season-long slalom crown, but only narrowly. She missed four slalom races to recover from physical and psychological damage.

“I’m still trying to get the repetition back. I simply have to keep practicing,” she explained.

After Olympic slalom champion Petra Vlhova missed the season due to a knee injury, a new World Cup championship winner emerged.

The last World Cup slalom of the season will take held on March 27 in Sun Valley, Idaho, with four skiers ahead of Shiffrin and within 100 points of winning the crystal globe.

Title contenders Zrinka Ljutic and Camille Rast, who won gold at the World Championships last month, finished 10th and 11th, respectively, on Sunday.

Before heading to the United States, the 21-year-old Ljutic leads Rast by 41 points in the slalom standings and will win the title if he finishes in the top three. Liensberger, the 2021 champion, and Rast’s Swiss colleague Wendy Holdener are also potential winners.

Shiffrin said she intends to practice in Europe before travelling across seven time zones to the Idaho resort, which last hosted World Cup races in 1977.

“There are obviously some travel problems. “It’s a really long distance,” she explained. “I guess one more race this season for me but I’m looking forward to it.”

Mikaela Shiffrin writes a heartfelt note to her Olympian fiancé, battling PTSD and injuries: “puts everything into perspective.”

It wouldn’t be incorrect to refer to Mikaela Shiffrin as the queen of snow, particularly following her 100th World Cup on February 23, 2025. However, she described the victory as somewhat unexpected, saying, “I would say it’s almost a surprise after everything that’s happened in the last months.” It takes courage to return to competition within two months of a bizarre stabbing mishap on the track. especially if the horror of the injury continues to haunt you.

The thing with fear, you know. They like banding together against your weaker self. Because she lost her father in an accident, the PTSD also brought up memories of him. Her sadness was that much more agonising since she was closest to him. All this gloom over the past three months was borne by the Olympian. She wouldn’t have been able to handle life without the support of her particular someone. She thus used social media to share her fortunate charm with the globe.

Mikaela Shiffrin sent a touching digital message for her fiancé, Alexander Aamodt Kilde, on Instagram on March 6. “It’s about time for a @akilde appreciation post,” the post said. This person puts things into perspective, even if this season has been difficult on many levels. Mikaela wouldn’t have recovered from her accident and setbacks with a more resilient attitude if it weren’t for perspective. One way to look at it is that terrible things happen to make you feel inferior. Or you learn what you need to learn from terrible experiences.

She discovered how her mind was acting against her instincts, fearing that the body may be harmed again, as she recovered and walked back to the snow after everything that had happened. “There is this kind of mind-body disconnect,” she told CNN. Even though I’m asking myself to perform specific technical techniques, they’re simply not happening. It’s like a fight-or-flight response, with my body screaming at me, “No, don’t do it, it’s risky, it’s dangerous.”

Being Mikaela, however, meant that everything else had to submit to her will. How else could someone who has an abdominal puncture wound on November 30 recover so quickly?

 

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A post shared by Mikaela Shiffrin ⛷💨 (@mikaelashiffrin)

Aleksander’s outlook on life also assisted her in overcoming the difficulties. “His positivity and spirit while dealing with his own injuries and continued recovery has been an absolute inspiration for me and so many others,” she said in her letter to her fiancé. For those who are unaware, Mikaela’s fiancé is a skier who has won two Olympic gold. However, in January 2024, he was severely impacted by an industrial hazard. He has been unable to go outside for more than a year because of how severely it affected him.

He sustained an infection, a severe cut with nerve damage in his leg, and a dislocated shoulder in a downhill collision in Wengen, Switzerland. To make sure he recovers well in time for the 2026 Winter Olympics, he has been having a number of procedures. What matters, though, is how he handled it. In a February 2024 Instagram photo, followers noticed Mikaela lounging with Aleksander, who was reading a book while his left arm was in a sling.

You are now aware of Aleksander Aamodt Kilde’s character. Mikaela could not have been impacted by any trauma, injury, or negative ideas when you have a personality like her. Her fiancé seems like the ideal remedy for suffering and melancholy. Spending time with him makes her smile, laugh, and radiate like a ray of sunshine.

“I’m incredibly grateful that I can keep his love in my heart🫶☺️💗.” The 29-year-old may win more and more titles with Aleksander by her side since his lifestyle enables her to be her best self on the slopes.

It makes us wonder how and when they met because they are such wonderful, lively individuals. This is how it all began.

Aleksander Aamodt Kilde and Mikaela Shiffrin offer you a few objectives!

In 2021, Aleksander declared their romance on Instagram. It all began when Mikaela received condolences from Aleksander following the sudden death of her father. The Olympians became closer as they began conversing, connecting and sharing.

“What I find really cool is that we can share experiences and have conversations about things I can’t really have with anyone else,” the 30-year-old Norwegian really said in an April 2024 interview with Olympics.com about how they complement one another. We can improve each other because I have some experience and she has a lot of experience.

The fact that their paths previously intersected during the Alpine Ski Racing World Cup in Chile nearly seven years ago is what makes it fateful and destiny. Perhaps the timing in Chile wasn’t ideal. The loss of Mikaela’s father, who was her best friend and greatest supporter and would always look out for her, was one of the worst moments of her life.

It’s likely that Aleksander’s optimism and passion gave her new life. Mikaela’s accomplishments have been greatly aided by Aleksander’s powerful presence and imposing attitude.

He literally supports her. No, we are serious. His Instagram post after February 23 makes it clear that he enjoys getting his fiancée excited. “I know you hate the GOAT talk – but sometimes your man should be allowed to brag 🐐,” the post said.

They took another step towards creating a lovely life together in April 2024 when they became engaged after three years of courtship. Her achievements make him quite pleased. Even when they are doing something insignificant like signing photos, Mikaela’s competitive spirit doesn’t make Aleksander feel uncomfortable or pushed, making them the ideal partners. Every one of them has peculiarities.

I think they make a nice pair.

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Mark Zuckerberg Receives Comical Skiing Advice From Mikaela Shiffrin

“Words of wisdom: if you french fry when you’re supposed to pizza, you’re gonna have a bad time!” Shiffrin posted anything on Threads.

Who would you consult if you were Mark Zuckerberg and wanted to improve your skiing skills?

There are many choices, but in a recent social media post, Zuckerberg chose Mikaela Shiffrin, the best ski racer of all time.

“My first race following knee surgery! 💪 experimenting with our just released Edits app. Any advice, @mikaelashiffrin? Zuckerberg stated this in a post on Threads, a social networking network owned by Meta.

Do you want to stay up to date with the most amazing ski tales and pictures? For weekly updates, sign up for the recently launched Powder To The People email.

POV video showing Zuckerberg skiing through a racecourse that softly winds between gates was included in the article. This was not the Streif.

A few hours later, Shiffrin answered Zuckerberg’s call for assistance.

“A word of advice: you’re going to have a terrible time if you french fried when you should be eating pizza! 🙃 And simply enjoy yourselves!” She wrote, maybe alluding to the iconic South Park episode that centred on skiing, Asspen.

Zuckerberg used a praying hands emoji in response to Shiffrin’s recommendation.

In 2023, the tech tycoon hurt his knee while practicing mixed martial arts, another of his athletic interests. When Zuckerberg and Elon Musk suggested competing in a cage bout, it brought attention to their shared interest in mixed martial arts. However, the billionaire feud gradually died down.

According to a document quoted by The San Francisco Standard in 2022, Zuckerberg had been (and maybe still is) a member of the exclusive Yellowstone Club, a private ski resort and community close to Bozeman, Montana.

See the video below for Zuckerberg’s request for ski advice from Mikaela Shiffrin.

Shiffrin, meantime, is recuperating from a collision that kept her out of the World Cup for a bit earlier this winter. She sustained serious injuries to her oblique muscles and a deep puncture wound during the fall.

Her most recent victory came in the World Cup slalom competition in Sestriere, Italy, when she resumed racing in late January. On February 23, 2025, she won her 100th World Cup as well.

However, the American racer’s massive slalom return has been more difficult. When Shiffrin crashed in Vermont, she was racing in the race discipline of giant slalom, which is quicker and riskier.

In a social media post last month, she described her decision to skip the giant slalom competition at the world championships as a “kind of mental/PTSD struggle.”

Since then, Shiffrin has participated in two giant slalom competitions, although her time has decreased compared to her previous performance in a sport in which she has won 22 times. After finishing 25th in the inaugural Sestriere giant slalom event, she told the Associated Press, “My goal for the rest of the season is sort of fighting for some points, so I can try to stay in the top 30 in GS, which is a very different position from the last many years when I was fighting for podiums.”

Next weekend, the World Cup women’s team will meet in Are, Sweden, for a slalom and giant slalom competition.

In contrast, Zuckerberg recently went viral for dressing up as musician Benson Boone for his wife’s 40th birthday celebration.

CNN Interview: Mikaela Shiffrin overcame a’mind-body disconnect’ to win the historic 100th World Cup race

Mikaela Shiffrin has been on a “quite a journey” this season.

That doesn’t do respect to the emotional and physical challenges she overcame to win her 100th World Cup, which she ultimately accomplished on Sunday in the Italian town of Sestriere.

To comprehend the American skier’s months-long suffering in the build-up to that history-making triumph, you must go back to November 30 when Shiffrin fell out of a giant slalom competition in Killington, Vermont.

The physical effect of that accident was terrible. Severe muscular trauma and a seven-centimeter-deep (approximately 2.76-inch) puncture wound to the belly, which Shiffrin claims nearly pushed into her colon.

“It’s been such a constant grind to get my muscles back to a functioning place,” she said with CNN Sport. “In terms of ski racing, the obliques, both internal and external, are among the most significant muscles we have. Aside from our legs, these are some of the most crucial components of the body. It’s been a huge, steep uphill fight simply to get back into skiing.”

Shiffrin returned to racing two months after the collision, finishing 10th in the slalom race at Courchevel, reigniting her quest for a 100th career victory.

Despite winning a gold medal with Breezy Johnson in the women’s team at the world championships, the November collision had a lasting emotional impact. The problems were exacerbated by two collisions she had around the same time, which involved banging her head and undergoing the concussion procedure.

Against this backdrop, Shiffrin revealed ahead to the team event that she would withdraw from the giant slalom at the world championships because to post-traumatic stress disorder.

“When we got over here (Europe) and I started to really get into the intensity with giant slalom, there’s this kind of mind-body disconnect,” Shiffrin adds. “I’m telling myself to execute specific technical motions, but it’s just not occurring.

“My body is warning me not to do it because it is unsafe and harmful. This whole experience has felt a little like whiplash, I believe, for me and the entire team.”

That was only a sample of the intrusive thoughts that plagued the 29-year-old during her return. Shiffrin experienced the long-term impacts of a mishap in Italy early last year, as well as her father’s unexpected death from a house accident four years prior.

“It’s been quite a trip over the previous year, for sure,” she admits, “but especially in the last few weeks. It all kind of came to the surface, and there were definitely a lot of tears on Sunday.”

Shiffrin won her 100th World Cup at Sestriere, finishing 0.61 seconds clear of the competition. This is 14 more than the next best downhill skier, Swedish legend Ingemar Stenmark, and 18 more than the next woman on the all-time list, compatriot Lindsey Vonn.

With her triumph in Italy, the two-time Olympic champion equalled Stenmark’s record of 155 World Cup podium finishes. And the bad news for her adversaries is that she’s not finished yet, especially because she’s still determined to beat her demons in the giant slalom.

At this point, the focus is on uncovering her own potential after the disaster, rather than chasing any tangible accomplishments or milestones.

“Can I get back to a level in giant slalom that’s competitive with the top racers?” Shiffrin is asking. “For me, thinking about it is both daunting and frustrating, but also exhilarating.

“There’s this sense that 100 is almost like resetting to zero, restarting the sport. I feel like I’m resetting myself a little bit, and I’m trying to ride the wave and see where it takes me.”

Shiffrin’s 100th triumph has also given her the opportunity to give back to the sport that she loves so much. In collaboration with the Share Winter Foundation, she aims to earn $100,000 to support 800 days of snowsports for underprivileged youth.

She has pledged to match the first $10,000 in donations, committing to a cause that she describes as “far bigger” than winning 100 events in her skiing career.

“I’m talking about the PTSD and the mental challenges of ski racing, but being on the mountain is healing,” Shiffrin explains. “It’s mentally so healing, it’s such a beautiful thing, and there are so many people, I think, that would benefit from it.”

Shiffrin’s season has been around healing, both mentally and physically. As she moves forward in her career, with scars healed and her 100th win secured, it appears that the sky is truly the limit for one of the world’s finest skiers.

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Mikaela Shiffrin reflects on her 100th World Cup victory in an in-depth interview

Mikaela Shiffrin questioned if she’d be able to compete again this season following a massive slalom collision on November 30, let alone return to the top of a World Cup podium so soon after winning her record-extending 100th career race last Sunday.

Shiffrin discussed the victory in an in-depth interview for a Stifel Snow Show episode that aired Saturday (available on the NBC Sports YouTube channel). The extended interview is at the top of this page.

“There’s so much more meaning to this one than a number or a record,” she told me. “I wouldn’t call it a relief. It’s almost surprising given what’s transpired in the previous several months. I honestly did not expect 100 to happen this season, so I am grateful.”

Shiffrin was remarkably injury-free for the first 12 years of her World Cup participation.

However, in 2024, she suffered two major crashes, including spraining her left leg ligaments in a downhill tumble in January. She missed 11 races last winter.

Then, following the November 30 collision, she was out of competition for two months. She had a penetrating wound that tore oblique muscles and almost punctured organs.

“It has been feeling very similar, to be honest, to this kind of mental fog that I had the year after my dad passed (in 2020),” she told me. “So communicating that, talking with my psychologist, talking with teammates, letting anybody and everybody kind of give me advice, and the main thing that everyone said is the only way to move through this is to get the exposure and to keep doing it (ski racing).”

Shiffrin’s upcoming events are a World Cup giant slalom and slalom in Åre, Sweden, next weekend.

She will turn 30 on March 13 before competing in the World Cup Finals in Sun Valley, Idaho, from March 22 to 27.