You think you’ve seen love in sport? You haven’t seen anything yet.
Last winter, the alpine skiing world watched in horror as its golden couple crashed within weeks of each other. First Mikaela Shiffrin, then Aleksander Aamodt Kilde. Two devastating falls. Two shredded seasons. Two identical, vicious shoulder infections that refused to heal.
What happened next is the most beautiful comeback story nobody saw coming.
While the internet speculated about retirements and broken dreams, something extraordinary was happening behind closed doors in Austria.
Kilde—himself barely able to walk—became Shiffrin’s rock. Not in the cheesy Instagram-caption way. In the raw, real way.
On the nights Mikaela stared at the ceiling wondering if she’d ever trust speed again, Kilde would pull her close and whisper the same five words that are now tattooed on both their hearts:
“It’s going to be alright.”
He didn’t say “you’ve got this” or “you’re the greatest.”
He said “no matter what happens, it’s going to be alright.”
Because he was living the same nightmare. Same infection. Same fear. Same brutal rehab clock ticking down to zero.
They cried together. They raged together. They learned to say “today sucks and that’s okay” without fixing it.
Mikaela told close friends: “He gave me permission to fall apart. That’s why I could put myself back together.”
Aleksander admitted: “Helping her healed me more than any physio session ever could.”
This wasn’t one partner carrying the other.
This was two champions refusing to let the other drown—holding each other up when neither could stand alone.
Now, as the 2025-26 World Cup season explodes back to life, they’re both training again. Laughing again. Racing again.
And every single time Mikaela drops into the start gate this winter, she’ll hear those five words in her head.
Every time Kilde pushes out for downhill, he’ll feel her hand on his back saying them right back.
“It’s going to be alright.”
If this doesn’t make you believe in love, resilience, and the power of showing up for someone when you’re broken too… nothing will.
