Following Mikaela Shiffrin’s conquer of a gold medal this afternoon in the Milano-Cortina 2020 Winter Olympics, the 30-year-old American icon ended an eight-year drought that had become the sport’s most scrutinized narrative for a while despite her tries to get over it.
That is why, under the bright sun of the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Shiffrin delivered two masterclass runs to reclaim the title of Slalom Queen. The victory was a full-circle moment, coming exactly 12 years after she became the youngest slalom champion in history at Sochi 2014.
The victory she had been waiting for
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Shiffrin’s performance was certainly one of a kind. She finished with a combined time of 1:39.10, a staggering 1.50 seconds ahead of silver medalist Camille Rast of Switzerland. Shiffrin nearly beat the history of the sport in a single afternoon.
Hours after the race, Shiffrin took to Instagram to share a massive sign of relief. She addressed the 0-for-8 streak that had dogged her since PyeongChang 2018, including her devastating three DNFs in Beijing.
“I won. I looked around at all of my peers and competitors. I wondered if they too felt this way. I felt a short moment of resentment… why do you all have to be so damn good at this too? Why can’t it be easier? And then, I felt immense appreciation
She continued with a swear with an exclamation of pure relief again:
“I won. I f- won. This, right here, is the lottery and I won. Oh, and I got a medal too
For Shiffrin, the gold came secondary.. “I wanted to be free,” she told reporters. “In the end, today, showing up-that was the thing I wanted most. More than the medal.”
Silencing the critics beyond the podium
Shiffrin leaves the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics with three medals (Slalom Gold, and two others from the technical and team events), matching her second-most successful Games ever. But more than the metal, she leaves with a restored sense of pride.
After starting the tournament with some challenges, Shiffrin proved that even the greatest athletes can fall, and consequently, they can come back. This climb back up is what truly defines a champion, and she surely is one of the best to ever do it.