Mikaela Shiffrin
| — Alpine ski racer — | |||||||||||||||||||
 Shiffrin in February 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Disciplines | Slalom, giant slalom | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Club | Burke Mountain Academy | ||||||||||||||||||
| Born |
March 13, 1995 Vail, Colorado, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | ||||||||||||||||||
| World Cup debut | March 11, 2011 (age 15) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Olympics | |||||||||||||||||||
| Teams | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| World Championships | |||||||||||||||||||
| Teams | 1 – (2013) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Medals | 1 (1 gold) | ||||||||||||||||||
| World Cup | |||||||||||||||||||
| Seasons | 3rd – (2012–14) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Wins | 7 – (7 SL) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Podiums | 14 – (11 SL, 2 GS, 1 PS) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Overall titles | 0 – (5th in 2013) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline titles | 1 – (SL, 2013) | ||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Mikaela Shiffrin (born March 13, 1995) is a World Cup alpine ski racer with the U.S. Ski Team, specializing in the technical events of slalom and giant slalom. She is the reigning World Cup and world champion in slalom.[1]
Early years
Shiffrin was born in Vail, Colorado, the daughter of Eileen and Jeff Shiffrin.[2] She began rising up through the ranks in alpine racing as soon as she was old enough to compete in FIS sanctioned races. On December 14, 2010, while meeting the minimum age of 15 requirement, Shiffrin won a Nor-Am Cup super combined race held at Panorama, British Columbia. It was only the eighth FIS-level race in which she had competed. She followed it up by taking a 2nd, 3rd and 1st in her next three Nor-Am races: a super-G, a GS, and a slalom, respectively. Weeks later, she won a pair of Nor-Am slalom races held at Sunday River, Maine. A month later she took the slalom bronze medal at the FIS Junior World Ski Championships held at Crans Montana, Switzerland (after having been down with a stomach flu the day before).[3]
Racing career
Shiffrin made her World Cup debut on March 11, 2011, in a giant slalom at Špindlerův Mlýn in the Czech Republic. In early April, just a few weeks after her 16th birthday, she won the slalom title at the U.S. National Championships at Winter Park, Colorado,[4] and became the youngest American skier to claim a national alpine crown.[5]
On December 29, 2011, Shiffrin made her first World Cup podium at a slalom in Lienz, Austria. She started 40th and lost her left shin guard halfway down, but finished in 12th place in the first run. Shiffrin then posted the fastest time in the second run to secure third place.[6][7][8]
Shiffrin won her first World Cup race in December 2012 at the age of 17, a night slalom in Åre, Sweden.[9] She became the second-youngest American to win an alpine World Cup event, behind Judy Nagel (17 yr, 5 mo.) in 1969.[10] Shiffrin's second win came two weeks later at a night slalom at Zagreb, Croatia;[11] and her third win 11 days later at another night slalom in Flachau, Austria.[12]
Shiffrin competed in her first World Championships in 2013 at Schladming, Austria, and finished sixth in the giant slalom, her best result to date in that discipline. Two days later in the slalom, she won the world title.[13] After winning the slalom at the World Cup finals in Lenzerheide, she secured the 2013 season title in the slalom discipline.[1]
Shiffrin opened her 2014 season by placing sixth in giant slalom, her career best, and within half a second of making the podium, in Sölden, Austria, on October 26, 2013. She won the next event, a slalom at Levi, Finland, improving on her podium finish the previous year for her fifth World Cup victory. At Beaver Creek, she was runner-up in the giant slalom, her first World Cup podium in that event. On January 5, 2014, she secured first place in a two-run slalom race in Bormio, Italy (the race took place there instead of being, as scheduled, in Zagreb due to bad snow/weather conditions).
Appearances
On Wednesday, February 5, 2014 Mikaela will be featured in a one-hour special on NBC television titled, How to Raise an Olympian. The program, hosted by Meredith Vieira, chronicles the journeys of seven U.S. Olympians and features interviews from parents and coaches along with home video and photos from each athlete's childhood. The event will be broadcast on television with live social-media components to enhance each segment.
World Cup results
Season titles
| Season | Discipline |
|---|---|
| 2013 | Slalom |
Season standings
| Season | Age | Overall | Slalom | Giant slalom | Super-G | Downhill | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 16 | 43 | 17 | 49 | — | — | — |
| 2013 | 17 | 5 | 1 | 19 | — | — | — |
Race podiums
| Season | Date | Location | Discipline | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 29 Dec 2011 |  Lienz, Austria | Slalom | 3rd |
| 2013 | 10 Nov 2012 |  Levi, Finland | Slalom | 3rd |
| 20 Dec 2012 |  Åre, Sweden | Slalom | 1st | |
| 4 Jan 2013 |  Zagreb, Croatia | Slalom | 1st | |
| 15 Jan 2013 | Flachau, Austria | Slalom | 1st | |
| 29 Jan 2013 |  Moscow, Russia | Parallel slalom | 3rd | |
| 10 Mar 2013 |  Ofterschwang, Germany | Slalom | 3rd | |
| 16 Mar 2013 |  Lenzerheide, Switzerland | Slalom | 1st | |
| 2014 | 16 Nov 2013 | Levi, Finland | Slalom | 1st |
| 1 Dec 2013 |  Beaver Creek, USA | Giant Slalom | 2nd | |
| 28 Dec 2013 | Lienz, Austria | Giant Slalom | 3rd | |
| 29 Dec 2013 | Slalom | 2nd | ||
| 5 Jan 2014 |  Bormio, Italy | Slalom | 1st | |
| 14 Jan 2014 | Flachau, Austria | Slalom | 1st |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Mintz, Geoff (March 16, 2013). "Shiffrin comes from behind to claim season slalom title". Ski Racing.com.
- ↑ http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/athletes/Groomed-for-Success-.html
- ↑ "Shiffrin goes from sick bed to podium at Junior Worlds". Ski Racing.com. February 3, 2011.
- ↑ "Granstrom, Shiffrin take U.S. National slalom titles; Ford, Schleper win combined". Ski Racing.com. April 3, 2011.
- ↑ Alpine Young Guns: Mikaela Shiffrin.
- ↑ FIS Results – World Cup – women's slalom – 2011-12-29
- ↑ Universal Sports – video – Mikaela Shiffrin – first World Cup podium – 2011-12-29
- ↑ Williams, Eric (December 29, 2011). "Shiffrin third in Lienz slalom, Schild wins again, Schleper retires". Ski Racing.com.
- ↑ Mintz, Geoff (December 20, 2012). "Shiffrin wins first career World Cup". Ski Racing.com.
- ↑ "Teen Mikaela Shiffrin wins". U.S. Ski Team. December 20, 2012.
- ↑ Mintz, Geoff (January 4, 2013). "Shiffrin picks up second career win at Zagreb, Croatia". Ski Racing.com.
- ↑ Mintz, Geoff (January 15, 2013). "Shiffrin picks up third win in Flachau, as first-run leader Hoefl-Riesch clips gate". Ski Racing.com.
- ↑ Mintz, Geoff (February 16, 2013). "17-year-old Mikaela Shiffrin your 2013 slalom World Champion". Ski Racing.com.
External links
- Mikaela Shiffrin at the International Ski Federation
- FIS-ski.com – Mikaela Shiffrin – World Cup season standings
- Ski-db.com – results – Mikaela Shiffrin
- U.S. Ski Team – profile – Mikaela Shiffrin
- Atomic Skis – athletes – Mikaela Shiffrin
- "Bill Green visits with Olympic hopeful Mikaela Shiffrin", WCSH6.com, June 9, 2013.
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