Mikaela Shiffrin slid out and tumbled skis over head into the b-netting on her second GS run, silencing the crowd at the Audi FIS World Cup at Killington.
My phone buzzed incessantly as I watched the crowd around Shiffrin halfway up the final pitch on Superstar. Apparently, NBC cut off the feed from the race, leaving fans in the dark as to Shiffrin’s condition.
We waited nearly fifteen minutes before she was sledded down the hill by ski patrol to a waiting ambulance.
Shiffrin was atop the pack in pursuit of her 100th World Cup victory with Sweden’s Sara Hector in second and Norway’s Thea Louise St Jernesund in third after the first run.
With Mikaela’s DNF, Sara Hector took first place, followed by Croatia’s Zrinka Ljutic in second and Camille Rast of Switzerland in third.
Shiffrin gave a personal update to all her fans on Instagram, saying it was bad, but not that bad. She just can’t move right now, and with the look of the abrasion, I wouldn’t move either. Even with her own situation, it didn’t stop her from congratulating teammate Elisabeth Bocock for getting her first World Cup points with a 25th place finish. Then to top it off, she gave a shoutout to Paula Moltzan and Nina O’Brien for their career-best finishes.
Mikaela Shiffrin gives a personal update on her condition after skidding out, going skis over head, into the B-netting. Every parent’s worst nightmare. She went out of her way to ease her fans’ worries.
With the cancellation of next week’s race at the Mont Tremblant World Cup scheduled for December 7 and 8, 2024, Mikaela will have a break before deciding wether to try for 100 in Beaver Creek, CO, on December 14 for Downhill, or December 15 for Super G. She will leave the United States for races in St. Moritz, Switzerland, on December 21-22 for Super G. Her pre-New Year’s will be spent in Semmering, Austria, on December 28-29 for GS and Slalom respectively. We all hope she goes into 2025 with the 100th victory.
I spoke with one of Mikaela Shiffrin’s photographers on the platform in the finish area, where we were all pinned in with horribly obstructed views of the course. Just before her DNF, we were talking about what an accomplishment this was. He couldn’t see her crash, but the second I said, “Oh my God, she’s down,” he ran off the platform, looking for where he needed to be. My heart went out to Mikaela and her team.
Mikaela Shiffrin is interviewed on NBC Sports on Sunday after her spectacular crash on Saturday. Her description was graphic and when whe called the footage “stunning” it was the understatement of the century. With a stab wound, possibly from one of the two gates she slid over, her recovery time is currently open-ended.
How important is World Cup in the United States? One of the newest members of the team, Elisabeth Bocock, said “This is a full circle moment for me.” When she was at Beaver Creek in 2015 for the World Championships, the ten-year-old had a life moment when Mikaela Shiffrin came up to her at her Mom’s urging “Make sure you get the small one over here” and gave her an autograph.
