Mikaela has only so much pain left, but the return to skiing will not be useless

A thought for Shiffrin, left empty-handed at the end of a crazy and dramatic season, for her and now for the whole world. We will see you in Soelden on October 24th, with the dream of finally smiling all together.

Wednesday 11 March 2020 4 minutes reading time

All useless, or maybe not. Training for weeks with death in the heart due to the sudden and tragic disappearance of dad Jeff, the one who for a 24-year-old girl (he will turn 25 on Friday), even before being an extraordinary athlete, represented a decisive pillar. Mikaela Shiffrin closes without any World Cup, not even that of slalom lost by 20 points in favor of Petra Vlhova, a crazy and bloody dramatic season, first for her and now for the whole world because of the Coronavirus. On the evening when it is right to celebrate the historic triumph of Federica Brignone, one cannot help but think of what has gone by this incredible champion of sport, the one who was (and will still do) rewriting the history books of skiing to the sound of records and performance. Mikaela had returned, flying a week ago to Scandinavia and ready to reappear tomorrow at the gate of the parallel slalom in Are, almost 50 days after her last appearance in the cup, in that super-g of Bansko that, incidentally, had won (with a splendid duel with Brignone herself, who came out close to the arrival of the American in full struggle over time). He skipped the last 9 races held after that January 26 on the Bulgarian snow, the other 10 canceled them due to bad weather (La Thuile, but he would not have competed there), lack of snow (Ofterschwang, and he would have returned there) and Coronavirus factor, which destroyed the season finale by canceling the Are races and especially the Cortina finals. Obviously his average points, with only 19 races played in the season (by choice he had renounced the parallel slalom of St. Moritz and the descent of Altenmarkt), is the best ever, but this is not the point; Shiffrin will have plenty of time to start hunting for firsts, but first of all she will have to find herself, in everyday life and in her spirit on skis to write the victory No. 67, then the 68th and so on, towards the Cortina World Championships 2021 and the Beijing Games 2022. It will not be easy, at all, but every ski enthusiast can only hope to see her smiling, next October 24 in Soelden for the giant that will open the 2020/21 season, embrace the colleagues, the technicians and all those who populate the circus White. When we have all recovered, this is the wish, a normal and peaceful life. What Mikaela will have to find in the coming weeks, also giving a look to the sky.

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