Mikaela Shiffrin inspired by LeBron James record before making own history at worlds
The 12-time World Championship medallist celebrated the feat of the basketball star: “It's another example of incredible accomplishments happening in sport that will continue to drive future generations to try to reset the boundaries."
Alpine Skiing
Mikaela Shiffrin won silver in the women’s Super G at the 2023 FIS Alpine Skiing World Championships on Wednesday (8 February), to become the competition's most decorated individual athlete (12 medals) of the modern era alongside Norwegian legend Kjetil Andre Aamodt.
Only Christl Kranz with 15 is ahead of her, but the German raced between 1934-1939 when the event was held annually and not under the current biennial schedule.
Shiffrin, who is just one win away from Ingemar Stenmark’s World Cup record (86), reached the mark just hours after LeBron James became the National Basketball Association's all-time leading scorer.
“Actually I did see that. I woke up before my alarm went off and my news alert was that, and I was thinking, ‘Oh, that’s cool for him!’ I wasn’t sure if it was a dream, so it’s good to know it’s true,” the 27-year-old said in a press conference after her race.
“It's another example of incredible accomplishments happening in sport that will continue to drive future generations to try to reset the boundaries, reset the records, and keep pushing the level of sports, whether it's skiing or it's basketball or it's anything, for me it symbolises this concept that we keep working harder and trying to do better.”
Mikaela Shiffrin: Today I’m proud of my Super G skiing
Shiffrin led leader Marta Bassino by 0.42s at the second time split but couldn’t match the Italian in the next part of the course, finishing 0.11 seconds behind her in second place.
“This day has been crazy, coming down after Marta and being so close. But I felt like it was the best run that I could do,” the American said.
“And then it was just crossing my fingers for the rest of the race. I think we all felt the same because everybody kept coming down with fast times. It was so close, so tight…And in the end, silver with that run, with the skiing the way I wanted to, that was really special.”
The six-time world champion explains how she bounced back just two days after failing to finish her first event at these Worlds.
“It's very special after the combined day. But they're totally different days. And I'm more proud of today now, because in the combined, if I finished and if I got a medal there, it was because of my slalom…I knew that my Super-G from that day was not good enough to be on the top step or to get a medal for this race.
“So I had the last 48 hours, I had to completely change my mentality, look at this hill in a different way, the visualisation, analysing video, everything to try to bring it back in the right level, the right skiing for this race. So, yeah, it's been kind of stressful 48 hours to come back to this point, and I'm very happy and proud for it.”
Shiffrin: Struggling to handle my emotions
Just after the race Shiffrin looked very emotional during an interview with Austrian broadcaster ORF when she had tears in her eyes after being asked if she was happy about her silver.
The skier from Vail, Colorado, later shared what went through her mind.
“I guess it's kind of a combination of a lot of things. In the last few weeks I must have answered 100 questions about this World Championships, if I'm worried that it's going to be the same as what the Olympics was last year, if I'm worried about the disappointment, if I'm afraid of it. And I was like, ‘I survived the Olympics, so I'm not afraid that it's going to kill me if I don't win a medal this World Championships.’ That's what I've been saying. But for sure, you get asked the same thing again and again. And it's so hard to keep the balance in your mind to try to answer this question and still be positive and still think, ‘I can do this. I can ski my best, I can make it to the finish.’
“So now there's a sense of the pressure... The pressure is not off, but there's for sure a little bit of relief," she added.
“That's a struggle for an athlete. The struggle between what you want to do and your own doubts that you have the ability to do it. So it's a lot of emotions... I think as an athlete I'm still learning and trying to understand the best way to handle these moments when they're bad, but also when they're good."