Mikaela Shiffrin has finally returned to the World Cup circuit following a traumatic injury during a run in November.
The fall during her giant slalom run at Killington left her with a punctured oblique and severe muscle trauma in her abdomen.
It was later found that a cavity in her stomach wasn’t draining properly, forcing a surgery to clean it out and close it with sutures.
This all occurred as she was on the brink of a 100th World Cup victory — but that milestone would have to be delayed.
Shiffrin went through intensive physical therapy to recover, announcing in early January that she felt strong enough to return to the sport.
This would be just in time for Courchevel at the end of January.
Races at the French resort have historically been kind to Shiffrin, with her winning seven events in four different disciplines and adding three World Championship medals — including one World Championship title — to her impressive collection.
Shiffrin pushed out of the start gate with intensity and readiness after being sidelined for two months. She put down a solid effort, though a cautious one, to land in fifth place in the first run, 0.87 seconds behind the leader Zrinka Ljutic of Croatia.
With the second run underway, Shiffrin prepared to ski her best given the circumstances.
She made a few mistakes throughout the course, which put her in 22nd place in the second run and 10th place overall. She was 1.17 seconds behind Ljutic.
Shiffrin expressed her pleasure with the result, and explained that she is still “catching up to the fastest in the world.” In her time out of the sport, the skier missed six races, falling to 16th in overall standings.
In preparing for the World Championships at Saalbach-Hinterglemm resort in Austria this month, Shiffrin seemed eager and ready to try her hand at giant slalom again following her devastating injury during this discipline last time out.
As the time got closer, she announced on Instagram that she didn’t feel mentally prepared to face a giant slalom right now due to “mental obstacles” and a “PTSD struggle” from her previous injury. Always a relentless competitor, she explained how devastating the feelings of fear and doubt are for her.
Opting out of the giant slalom opened the opportunity for Shiffrin to race with her teammate, and longtime friend, Breezy Johnson in the first ever Team Combined race.
This type of race consists of two athletes from the same team competing in one run of two different disciplines where their times will be combined for final results. Johnson competed in the downhill run and Shiffrin in the slalom.
Shiffrin and Johnson competed exceptionally well and earned themselves a World Championship gold medal. This marks Shiffrin’s 15th World Champs medal, tying the most ever won. This is Johnson’s second gold medal in the World Champs.
This was not the only great result for the American women competing.
Lauren Macuga and Paula Moltzan landed just off the podium in 4th. Jacqueline Wiles and Katie Hensien earned 10th place, while Lindsey Vonn and AJ Hurt fought their way to a solid 16th place.
Fans are looking forward to seeing what Shiffrin will accomplish as she settles into the sport again.
This has been a long road for the skier, taking immense mental and physical resilience to be able to return in full force in the World Cup circuit with the 2026 Winter Olympics on the horizon.
