The American Mikaela Shiffrin, who cemented her status as the best skier in history by winning a sixth large crystal globe on Wednesday, has been able to count since childhood on the meticulous work of her mother Eileen, who charted her golden destiny by becoming a world-class coach.
Before the record 110 World Cup victories, the six overall successes or the eight world titles, there were first the first slides on his feet in the snowy driveway of the house in Edwards (Colorado), at 2 and a half years old.
Born March 13, 1995, Mikaela Shiffrin grew up at altitude near the upscale resort of Vail, the daughter of a nurse and a doctor from the northeast of the country whose first date took place on skis.
If she didn’t get to know the high level in her youth, Eileen Shiffrin, who learned to slide the hard way in a field in Massachusetts without a ski lift, made up for it in the “master” category where she became a fierce competitor, and became passionate about technique.
Even before being old enough to join the local club, Mikaela spends a lot of time on the slopes within a small group of children led in particular by her mother, between games, fundamentals and introductions to competition gates.
“A gift”
Alex Leever, who has known the Shiffrins “forever”, is part of the gang, with Taylor, Mikaela’s big brother.
“From a very young age, Mikaela wanted to become a great skier,” the former slalom skier with 15 World Cup starts told AFP. On our older videos, we hear Eileen asking him to keep his hands high, to stay technically precise. It was especially mentally that she already made the difference, with a very professional approach.”
When she joined the Vail club (SSCV) at the age of six, the little girl impressed one of her coaches, Simon Marsh, with her technique worthy of “a 20-year-old skier”. Her mother began coaching shortly after, taking charge of Mikaela’s group.
“Eileen is a natural coach, she has a fantastic eye for movement, and spots what separates you from the top level. She could make anyone progress in any sport, it’s a gift,” praises Alex Leever.
According to her precepts, Mikaela develops her talents on a bike, with a soccer ball or at the skate park. Eileen introduced him at age 10 to the best-seller “The Inner Game of Tennis,” which revolutionized the mental aspect of the sport.
“One of my strengths is that I like to analyze movement, find the most effective gesture, then transmit. I’m not always right, but almost,” says the mother-coach.
Drama in February 2020
The Shiffrin family moved to the northeast for a time, where the two children joined Burke Mountain Academy, before Mikaela made her World Cup debut in March 2011, two days before her 16th birthday.
She achieved her first success at the age of 17, then her first Olympic title, in slalom, at the age of 18 in 2014 in Sochi.
If other coaches thickened the structure, Eileen continued to support her daughter and became one of the only female coaches on the circuit.
Mikaela wins everywhere, even in downhill, and wins the general classification three times in a row, from 2017 to 2019.
His crazy series of successes came to an abrupt halt in February 2020, with the death of his father Jeff in a domestic accident. The tragedy deprives the family of its “unifying” element, notes Mr. Leever, who appreciates seeing that “joy has returned” to his friend, thanks to therapy and the meeting of her partner, the Norwegian skier Aleksander Aamodt Kilde.
Failure, extremely rare, Shiffrin suffered with violence during the Beijing Olympics in 2022, after the giant’s gold in 2018. She went out three times and felt “ridiculous”. She bounced back with two large globes, that same winter and the next.
On November 30, 2024, the Killington station was preparing to celebrate its 100th victory on the circuit when she fell heavily and injured her abdomen.
The champion underwent surgery and returned in February for a combined world title with Breezy Johnson, future Olympic downhill champion.
Mikaela had regretted the rare maternal absence when she broke the record of 86 successes of the Swede Ingemar Stenmark in March 2023. On February 23, 2025, Eileen posed in the foreground for the 100th success in Sestriere.
“People ask me, ‘what’s your secret?’. It’s simple, she’s my mother,” proclaims the American, who crushed the 2025/26 slalom season until Wednesday in the World Cup, with the added bonus of an Olympic title in Cortina to resume her golden Olympic history.
