She is dealing with the loss of her father
Outburst of tears: emotional appearance by the Olympic champion
02/19/2026 – 8:12 a.mReading time: 3 minutes
After the drama surrounding Lindsey Vonn, the focus is once again on her US colleague Mikaela Shiffrin at the end of the Alpine ski races in Italy. Their triumph is remarkable in several ways.
For days, the best female ski racer of the moment only had a supporting role at the Winter Games in Italy – but then she struck back. US star Mikaela Shiffrin has overcome the trauma of the Olympics, caused great emotions in the famous slalom triumph in Cortina d’Ampezzo and once again wrote a chapter in sports history.
“That was a moment that I dreamed of – and that I was also very afraid of,” said Shiffrin about her feelings after crossing the finish line on Wednesday. Her mother Eileen hugged her warmly, but the Olympic champion herself also thought of her father Jeff, who died in an accident in 2020.
“Everything you do in life after losing a loved one is like a new experience. It’s like a rebirth,” Shiffrin explained. “And there are still so many moments in which I resist it. I don’t want to live without my father,” said the 30-year-old. “And maybe today for the first time I was able to really accept that as a reality. I would face the moment without him, but silently share the moment with him.”
Shiffrin then made the comparison of how other athletes dealt with the loss of a loved one, saying “they are here with me today and have accompanied me through the day.” She would then just ask herself: “Where? How do you manage to feel that way? And I ask myself, why can’t it be easier? Today I thought to talk to him, to him. And he doesn’t have to answer. Which is very hard, but it’s okay.”
The death of her father a good six years ago was a severe blow of fate for Shiffrin. She has also had to deal with serious injuries on several occasions in the recent past. It was particularly dramatic when she suffered a stab wound in her stomach during a fall in the giant slalom in Killington in November 2024 and had to undergo surgery. As a result, she struggled with mental problems for a long time, but always found support in one person in particular: her fiancé, the Norwegian ski star Aleksander Aamodt Kilde.