Industry News
The world reacts to Mikaela Shiffrin becoming the most successful female Alpine World Cup ski racer and messages and posts are flooding social media and news channels everywhere.
“Kicking A**”
Bode Miller posted a message on Instagram, saying: “I wanna congratulate you on kicking a** as you do, I told you a long time ago I thought you were the best I’ve ever seen. Proud to see you out there charging and laying it down, congratulations and have fun.”
“Numbers Are Insane”
Mikaela’s boyfriend Aleksander Aamodt Kilde naturally did not hold back: “It’s mind-blowing,” the 30-year-old Norwegian speed ski racer said, “These numbers are just insane to me.” Kilde has 20 World Cup victories to his name, 11 in Downhill and 9 in Super-G. “I can’t really describe it but the way when I talk to her, she’s just enjoying skiing. She loves it, she loves to get better. Her mindset is just different, and that’s why she’s a brilliant athlete.”
“Paving the Way for Future Generations”
Meanwhile, former teammate and former record holder, Linsey Vonn, wrote in a piece for Associated Press: “I’m really happy for Mikaela. Records are meant to be broken and it’s a sign of progress. And if anyone is to break my record, I’m really happy that it’s an American. She’s going to continue pushing the limits and continue to inspire other Americans. There were a lot of women who paved the way for me. And now it’s her turn to pave the way for the next generation. It’s pretty impressive that the top two female skiers of all time are Americans in a sport historically dominated by Europeans. We’re 20 wins ahead (21 for Shiffrin with Tuesday’s victory) of the next woman (Annemarie Moser-Pröll of Austria with 62 wins), which is a substantial margin. So it’s not even really close. It just speaks for our country as a whole and what we’re capable of doing.”
“An Amazing Athlete”
Mikaela’s strongest competitor, Lara Gut-Behrami from Switzerland, who is currently ranked 2nd in the World Cup Overall standings said: “With me and Fede (Federica Brignone), we raced her (Shiffrin) for the first time in the World Cup in Lienz many years ago, and it’s fun to still be on the podium together. It’s unbelievable what she’s doing. She’s so solid and she’s skiing so great. She’s an amazing athlete.”
“Not Finished Yet”
Rival Petra Vlhova from Slovakia, who is currently ranked 3rd in the World Cup Overall standings, said in an interview: “It’s hard to find the words because what she’s doing is something amazing. Skiing with her is an honor and of course, sometimes it’s difficult because she’s still winning. She made history and she’s not finished yet.”
“Writing History Every Day”
Mikaela’s teammate Nina O’Brien said: “I just feel so lucky to be her teammate in this era and watch her write history every day. It’s a lot of fun and she’s been really supportive as well.”
“Inspirational”
French skier Tessa Worley probably said it best in a French interview: “It’s not a surprise, we all knew she would break this record — it was just a matter of when. It’s impressive, it’s inspirational. It’s quite cool and it gives a good image to women’s skiing and Alpine skiing.”
We at SnowBrains couldn’t agree more. We all knew she would break the record, the question was just when. As Mikaela moves from strength to strength, she certainly looks in her element when skiing, making her victories appear almost effortless. We look forward to watching her in her upcoming races and congratulate her on this amazing milestone.
