Alpine skiing, Shiffrin queen and it doesn’t end here: she can oust Stenmark

Shiffrin? “Phenomenal, she will surpass 100 World Cup successes…”. In February 2019, it was not just any gentleman who “blessed” the American with honeyed words, but his majesty Ingemar Stenmark: the most successful in the history of alpine skiing with his 86 Cup triumphs between giant slalom (46) and special . Less than 4 years later, the forecast is taking off: since yesterday Mikaela has joined another female legend like compatriot Lindsey Vonn, climbing to 82 seals thanks to first place in the Kranjska Gora giant. But everyone knows that it will only be an intermediate stage, a number to add to the many numbers shown by this alien from the snow, who landed on the white circus when she was not even 16 years old: March 2011. Shiffrin only needed another 21 months to obtain the first cup win. Where is it? In Are, Sweden. A clear sign of destiny, arms raised in the country of the king. And he, the good Ingemar, had recognized her role as queen after seeing her on a couple of occasions: “She’s limitless, when she comes down she puts on a show. It’s only a matter of time, a short time. Not only will she surpass my 86 hits, but it will break through the ceiling of 100”. You were right, as always, Stenmark. He was right despite what has happened (negatively) to the American since February 2019: first the sudden and absurd death (due to a fall from the roof of the house) of his beloved father Jeff, then the Covid emergency with the races canceled and the world in lockdown. That forced isolation had dramatically amplified Mikaela’s pain, bringing her to the brink of depression.

A few weeks before the Beijing 2022 Olympics (where she fell off the podium) she explained: “I still have moments where I forget how to walk… It’s as if I suddenly went back to that cursed day, when everything just happened That feeling hasn’t gone away: I’m not sure if it will go away, but you learn to appreciate the good times, and luckily I still have good times…”. In order not to get overwhelmed by events, ending up being torn to pieces by black dogs, she shamelessly decided to get help from a sports psychologist. A path that healed her soul in turmoil. “It was the only way out: when my father died, it was essentially like a wound, but no one can see it – he said in an interview -. There is no surgery that can fix it, it’s like an injury for which you have no timeline, you have no directions, you have only pain. I put all the pieces together to find the fire of the races again”. This season, the “fire” (perhaps also thanks to the love story with Aleksander Kilde, colleague and Norwegian champion) has very high flames: 8 successes in the Cup and an enormous advantage in the general standings, so much so that the calculations are already being made for figure out when Mikaela will be able to lift her fifth Crystal Ball. And perhaps she will do so after putting King Ingemar behind her, adding to the two Olympic titles, to the six world champions (but this is a provisional figure: in a month in France she will be able to expand her showcase), even that of the most successful athlete in alpine skiing ( and capable, unlike Stenmark, of successes in every specialty: freestyle, super-G, giant, special, combined and even in parallel). You then aiming for the iconic quota of 100 cup triumphs. From the series: like Shiffrin no one ever.