Mikaela Shiffrin secured her 104th World Cup podium on Sunday, November 30, at Copper Mountain, Colorado, but the win was accompanied by an unexpected setback: she was fined for arriving late to the pre-race bib draw.
According to FIS media coordinator Viviane Tonoli, Shiffrin “appeared too late for the starting number draw for the World Cup Slalom of Copper Mountain,” a mandatory event for the top 15 athletes in technical disciplines. Under FIS rule 9.4, competitors ranked 1–15 must check in on time for the public draw; failure to do so without an official excuse results in an automatic CHF 999 fine.
“In case of a SL, GS, (AC if 1st run = SL) event, competitors 1 to 15 on the board are obligated to meet at a certain time for the public draw. […] If competitors do not check-in in person for a public draw by their defined show up time specified by FIS on the official daily program, without an official excuse, a sanction of CHF 999.–may be pronounced. In case of recurrence, this sanction may be increased to CHF 5’000.–.”
—FIS Rules for the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup
The incident reportedly stemmed from Shiffrin getting lost en route to the draw the night before the race. Although she lives just over 20 minutes away in Vail, proximity did not spare her from the penalty. Tonoli emphasized that the rules are applied uniformly, noting that FIS maintains strict standards regarding athlete obligations at public events.
This is Shiffrin’s first offense under the regulation, meaning she received the minimum fine rather than the elevated CHF 5,000 penalty applied to repeat offenders. With her 67th career Slalom win and the $63,549 in prize money she earned at Copper Mountain, the financial impact is minimal, but the moment served as an unusual blemish on an otherwise dominant weekend.
Not really a big deal that’s for sure.
I’m more surprised the payout is so low.