Why Mikaela Shiffrin Almost Quit Skiing Ahead of the 2022 Olympics

As it turned out the process to mostly okay-ish was much more of a marathon than her beloved sprints. 

Reading Sheryl Sandberg‘s book Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy, about the 2015 loss of the Facebook executive’s husband Dave Goldberg, helped as did a new romance with Norwegian downhill skier Aleksander Aamodt Kilde. And then it was just about putting one booted foot in front of the other. 

“I’ve learned you have to live your life and do the things you like and be who you are,” Mikaela explained to People. “I’m getting my fire back….With every day that passes, I’m able to put more energy back into skiing.”

On Jan. 11, she notched her 47th slalom victory, breaking the three decade-old record Ingemar Stenmark set for most career World Cup race wins in one event. A day later, she shared her thoughts on Instagram, thanking her team “for continuing to pick up my pieces on a daily basis for the last two years, and for giving me the wonderful gift to simply keep trying,” and her mom, noting Eileen’s “strength, love, support, and belief” in her “is the greatest treasure I’ll ever know.”

But first she thanked Jeff, her lifelong No. 1 fan. “Dad,” she wrote, “I hope you had a good view.”