Exactly 373 days after a horrific crash left her with a punctured abdomen and doctors telling her she was lucky to be alive, Mikaela Shiffrin stood in the finish area Sunday with tears in her eyes, tied for 4th in giant slalom, and officially punched her ticket to the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics.
The greatest skier in history is back — and she’s not done yet.
On November 30, 2024, at Killington, Shiffrin hit the safety netting at over 40 mph. The impact drove a fence post deep into her abdomen, requiring emergency surgery and months of grueling rehab. She later admitted to battling PTSD so severe she pulled out of the 2025 World Championships GS rather than face the mountain again.
Sunday in Canada, she faced it anyway.
Starting bib 6 after a solid first run (+0.72 behind leader Julia Scheib), Shiffrin unleashed a second-run charge that lit up the leaderboard. She crossed the line in a dead heat with Switzerland’s Camille Rast — 1.17 seconds off the win, but her best GS result since the crash.
“I felt every turn,” Shiffrin said, voice cracking. “A year ago I didn’t know if I’d ever race GS again. Today I was just… happy to be here.”
The result wasn’t just personal redemption. Combined with her three straight slalom victories earlier this season — including a dominant win last week at Copper Mountain — Shiffrin has now mathematically secured her fourth Olympic berth. She will head to Italy next February as the overwhelming favorite to add to her three career Olympic golds.
Even the finish area couldn’t contain the emotion. After skiing out, Shiffrin clipped the fencing (again), tumbling into the pads. She popped up laughing, arms wide: “I’m fine! Old wound is totally fine!”
Her fiancé, Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, who himself returned from a near-career-ending injury last season, was first to the fence, pulling her into a long embrace as the Canadian crowd roared.
One year after wondering if she’d ever walk normally again, Mikaela Shiffrin is walking straight toward another Olympic podium — and reminding the world why many already call her the greatest of all time.
The comeback isn’t complete.
It’s just getting started.
