The greatest alpine skier of all time, Mikaela Shiffrin, celebrates her 31st birthday today. Given the legendary skier is competing this weekend in Åre, Sweden, she will be spending her birthday—like probably most of her birthdays—training. But don’t feel sorry for her—as Shiffrin told SnowBrains at the Atomic Media day, “my perfect day […] is on the mountain, training, with my teammates or competitors, pushing my self to get better and better.”
The Vail, Colorado, native burst onto the World Cup scene at the age of 15–the FIS minimum age— at Špindlerův Mlýn, Czechia, in March 2011. Competing just two days before her 16th birthday, her dad had traveled to Czechia with her for her debut. She claimed her first podium the following season, in December 2011 at age 16, when she placed third at the slalom in Lienz, Austria. Starting in bib 40, she had finished 12th on run 1 and boosted herself into third place with the fastest run 2 time of the day.
Shiffrin won her first World Cup race the following season at age 17, when she won the night slalom in Åre, Sweden. She has always stated that Åre holds a special place in her heart—not just because it was the location of her first World Cup victory. She also tied with Ingemar Stenmark’s record for most World Cup wins at Åre in 2023 and one day later surpassed Stenmark, when she backed up her Giant Slalom win with a Slalom victory. The American also made her comeback after her Killington crash at Åre in 2024.
So what better place to spend her 31st birthday than in Åre, a place that has been the location of so many career milestone. In the evening, Shiffrin will attend the bib draw for the Giant Slalom on Saturday, March 14. The Slalom will be held on Sunday, March 15. Shiffrin has won a total of seven World Cup races in Åre—six Slalom and one Giant Slalom. By the end of the weekend, she could very well make it eight victories on the storied Swedish race course.
