Mikaela Shiffrin didn’t just dominate the slopes this year—she owned the spotlight off them too.
Fresh off one of the most complete seasons in alpine skiing history, the American legend turned heads at both the 2026 ESPY Awards and the inaugural TIME100 Sports Gala in New York, cementing her status as more than just the winningest skier of all time.
At the Milano-Cortina Olympics, Shiffrin claimed her third career gold medal in the women’s slalom by a stunning 1.5-second margin—the largest in any Olympic alpine event since 1998. She then sealed a record-tying sixth overall World Cup crystal globe, a ninth career slalom title, and pushed her all-time World Cup victory total past 110 while winning nine of 10 slaloms. The performances made her the most decorated U.S. alpine skier in Olympic history.
That dominance earned her a nomination for Best Athlete, Women’s Sports at the ESPYs on July 15—her eighth career nod in the category (she won it in 2023). She shared the field with hockey star Hilary Knight, golfer Nelly Korda, and eventual winner A’ja Wilson. Shiffrin attended the Lincoln Center ceremony looking every bit the champion, sharing the red-carpet moment with fellow skiing icon Lindsey Vonn.
The next night, she shone even brighter at TIME’s first-ever TIME100 Sports Gala. Named an Icon on the inaugural list of the 100 Most Influential People in Sports, Shiffrin walked the carpet alongside boyfriend and fellow alpine star Aleksander Aamodt Kilde. The event drew LeBron James, Ciara, Chloe Kim, and a who’s-who of sports royalty—and Shiffrin held her own as one of the night’s most celebrated figures.
In her own words after the TIME recognition, Shiffrin captured the surreal nature of it all: “Even after all these years, there’s still a part of me that wonders, ‘Is this real?’ I’ve been fortunate enough to stand on top of the podium 121 times on the world stage, and I can honestly say it has never felt routine… I’m still chasing the perfect turn.”
From crushing Olympic fields by historic margins to lighting up two of sports’ biggest nights in back-to-back fashion, Mikaela Shiffrin continues to prove she’s in a league of her own—on skis and under the lights. The GOAT isn’t just winning races. She’s rewriting what it means to shine.
