COURCHEVEL, France — Mikaela Shiffrin resumed her quest for a milestone 100th World Cup win in Courchevel, France where she was in fifth place following the opening run of the slalom event two months after a ski crash left her with a puncture wound in her abdomen.
Shiffrin, who acknowledged ahead of her first start since the injury that she was prioritising her recovery over chasing a record-extending World Cup win, did her best to shake off the rust but was not her usual aggressive self during her first run.
The 29-year-old American was the sixth of 65 skiers out of the start gate and finished in 52.75 seconds, which left her in fifth place, where she remained after a first run where 21 skiers failed to reach the finish area.
“This is a step. This is a really big step in my recovery. But it’s only one step, actually,” Shiffrin said ahead of this week’s race.
“We’re taking it as it comes. My biggest goal is to enjoy being back in the start gate again,” Shiffrin added according to Reuters.
Shiffrin’s pursuit of World Cup win No. 100 isn’t at the top of her priority list on the eve of her return to ski racing two months after a serious crash.
The two-time Olympic champion is still rounding into top form after a spill in a giant slalom race on Nov. 30 in Killington, Vermont, where something punctured her in the side and caused severe trauma to her oblique muscles.
Shiffrin said she wasn’t even sure if she would make it back at all this season.
“To be here at this point is just so incredible,” Shiffrin said in a video she recorded.
“It´s just really hard to zoom out and look at that whole big picture and all the hype (around chasing her 100th win) that has been talked about since the start of the season.
“This is a step. This is a really big step in my recovery. But it´s only one step, actually. We´re taking it as it comes. My biggest goal is to enjoy being back in the start gate again,” Shiffrin added according to AP.
The French region has long held a special place for Shiffrin. She’s won seven World Cup events at Courchevel/Meribel, spanning four different disciplines. She’s captured three world championship medals in this area, too. It’s also where she earned her first win after losing her father. Jeff Shiffrin died at age 65 in February 2020, in an accident at the family home in Colorado.
“It was very much the first race that helped me believe on any level that I might be able to return to the form that I had before my dad´s accident,” explained Shiffrin, who can become the first Alpine ski racer to amass 100 World Cup wins.
“It helped me realize that even though my life might never be the same, that doesn´t mean it´s not worth it. There is a lot of meaning built into this race for me.
“It´s pretty beautiful that I´m able to make this return here.”
The road back following her ski crash has been filled with hurdles. Right after the crash, she didn’t have the core strength to rise out of a chair. She also needed a surgery to ward off infection from the puncture wound that was millimeters from piercing her colon.
With the help of physical therapist Regan Dewhirst, she’s steadily regained her strength. On Jan. 1, Shiffrin was back on skis. Two weeks later, she was executing some easy turns through slalom gates. This race, a return to competition, is just the next step along the way.
“We kind of hit the ground running once I was able to sit up out of bed,” the 29-year-old Shiffrin explained. “Then it was like, `How can we progress every single day?´ It´s felt like an all-out sprint.”
Shiffrin said getting to the start gate in Courchevel should be considered a “huge, huge victory already.”
“A part of what I hope to show the world is that I want to be here,” she added.
“That sounds so simple and so obvious, but I questioned whether or not it´s even worth returning this season. Even if I could take on that physically, could I take it on mentally? I suppose I have enough of an answer to that, being that I´m here and we´re doing it.”
What’s meant a great deal to Shiffrin has been all the support she’s received from teammates and rivals. They would reach out to let her know she was missed on the circuit.
“That literally made my day. Every time,” Shiffrin said. “I want to be here despite the uncertainties and the doubts.
“That´s the mentality I want to take into the start gate and in life. It´s more of a legacy thing. It´s like, `I want to be here and I want to be doing this the best that I can.´ That´s the mentality I´ve taken so far, and that´s what I hope to continue for the rest of the season.”
