Mikaela Shiffrin’s 104th World Cup victory belonged to the mountain, to the 11,000 roaring fans, and, most of all, to the woman who has been there since the very first turn: her mother, Eileen.
As Shiffrin skied across the finish line 1.57 seconds clear of the field in Sunday’s Stifel Copper Cup slalom, the cameras quickly found Eileen Shiffrin in the leader’s box. The architect of Mikaela’s legendary career, eyes brimming, arms flung wide. The moment her daughter stopped, Eileen rushed forward, wrapped her in the longest hug of the afternoon, and whispered the four words that instantly went viral:
“That’s my girl!”
The embrace, captured from every angle and already viewed more than 8 million times across platforms, told the entire story of the day.
Just thirty miles from the family home in Edwards, Colorado, the race felt like a hometown coronation. Eileen, who coached Mikaela from age 10, traveled the World Cup circuit as her shadow for years, and still fine-tunes race plans between runs, could barely speak afterward.
“I’m just… overflowing,” she managed, voice cracking, as Mikaela stood beside her clutching the leader’s bib. “Every one of these wins feels like the first.”
The victory was Shiffrin’s third slalom triumph in as many weeks this season and her 67th in the discipline (more than any skier in history, male or female, in any single event). At 30, she now sits 18 wins clear of Ingemar Stenmark’s long-standing record of 86.
But the loudest cheers on Sunday weren’t only for the record; they were for the family reunion playing out in real time. Three days earlier, Eileen had watched Mikaela cry at the same finish line when fiancé Aleksander Aamodt Kilde returned from a 685-day injury layoff. This time, it was Eileen’s turn.
“Mikaela and I have shared every high and low of this journey,” Eileen told reporters while still clutching her daughter’s hand. “Today felt like the mountain gave us one back.”
Shiffrin, smiling through her own tears, added simply: “Everything I am on skis started with her. This one’s for Mom.”
Next up: Killington’s giant slalom this weekend, where Eileen already poring over course reports on the gondola ride down. Some things, even after 104 victories, never change.
