This sounds like the beginning of the end of Mikaela's racing days.

[east or bust]

At 13 I would have loved to have had that opportunity.

Yea, as would most. What would 25, or 40, or 60 y/o you think about it though.

I guess if you make it through to stardom without becoming a total headcase in the process there aren’t many regrets. That applies to a lot more than ski racing too.

[~mikey b]

I've run into Mikaela a few times over the years with my racer son and she was nothing but kind. My brother in law was her History teacher at Burke, but we never mentioned that to her because I really hate bugging famous people. I'd rather just let them be. He always said what a great person she was, and never had anything but positive things to say about her family. You guys comparing her to a POS like Tiger Woods is insulting.

[altasnob]

Who said Shiffrin isn't a very nice person and anything short of a model athlete? The Tiger Woods comparison shows that raising a kid from birth to excel at a sport, and putting a kid in $55,000 a year boarding school at the age of 13 where their entire every day existence revolves around excelling in that sport can lead to burnout and general depression. This is not an attack on her character.

And speaking of Tiger, can you blame any of his transgressions on his overbearing upbringing resulting in mental illness?

[TahoeJ]

You guys comparing her to a POS like Tiger Woods is insulting.

You try being one of the most famous people on the planet - it’s not easy. Mikaela isn’t even 1/50th as famous. I’ve met Tiger a few times, including playing in a tournament against him back in high school and again many years later. Sure didn’t seem like a POS to me. People make mistakes.

Regardless, there are good reasons the comparison came up.

[snojones]

I heard an interview with a big name violinist. He said "If i don't practice every day, I can tell the difference. If I don't practice for 2 days, my accompanist can tell. If I don't practice for 3 days, the audience can tell the difference."

[old goat]

I've run into Mikaela a few times over the years with my racer son and she was nothing but kind. My brother in law was her History teacher at Burke, but we never mentioned that to her because I really hate bugging famous people. I'd rather just let them be. He always said what a great person she was, and never had anything but positive things to say about her family. You guys comparing her to a POS like Tiger Woods is insulting.

Who said Shiffrin isn't a very nice person and anything short of a model athlete? The Tiger Woods comparison shows that raising a kid from birth to excel at a sport, and putting a kid in $55,000 a year boarding school at the age of 13 where their entire every day existence revolves around excelling in that sport can lead to burnout and general depression. This is not an attack on her character.

And speaking of Tiger, can you blame any of his transgressions on his overbearing upbringing resulting in mental illness?

My reference to Tiger Woods was ONLY to say that he and Mikaela seem to have the same compulsion to train. I certainly didn't mean to compare their character and personality.
There are certainly kids that are pushed too hard by parents. Most of those kids drop out early or wind up splitting from the parents when they can. Most people at the top would do it whether the parents pushed them or not. It's a mistake to analyze the parent child-relationship of gifted athletes and musicians, or of anyone else for that matter, without intimate knowledge.
I will say that as the child shares at least some of their genes with each parent it would not be unusual for the child and one or both parents to be compulsive and it would be easy in that situation for outsiders to misread the situation. The "stage mother" is a cliche that is sometimes valid and sometimes not.

[~mikey b]

Mikaela pointedly states that she wouldn’t even be in Europe if she couldn’t have her mom along with her.

I dunno

[jackstraw]

JFC, let her live her life.

https://youtu.be/hQT-u_FeDb8

My baby's got a heart of stone
Can't you people just leave her alone
She never did nothing to hurt you
So just leave her alone

The motion of her tiny hands
And the quiver of her bones below
Are the signs of a girl alone
And tell you everything
You need to know

I can't explain it
I feel it often
Every time I see her face
But the way you treat her
Fills me with rage and I
Want to tear apart the place

You try to tell her what to do
And all she does is stare at you
Her stare is louder than your voice
Because truth doesn't make a noise

[MakersTeleMark]

Is this the 1st world problem thread, because it smells like it.

[old goat]

Is this the 1st world problem thread, because it smells like it.

I think the US has been downgraded to the second world. Canada still holding on to first world status.

[billyk]

Maybe it was already mentioned, but Mikaela hurt her back and will miss the first race of the season.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/olympic...in-injury/amp/

[TahoeJ]

My reference to Tiger Woods was ONLY to say that he and Mikaela seem to have the same compulsion to train. I certainly didn't mean to compare their character and personality.
There are certainly kids that are pushed too hard by parents. Most of those kids drop out early or wind up splitting from the parents when they can. Most people at the top would do it whether the parents pushed them or not. It's a mistake to analyze the parent child-relationship of gifted athletes and musicians, or of anyone else for that matter, without intimate knowledge.
I will say that as the child shares at least some of their genes with each parent it would not be unusual for the child and one or both parents to be compulsive and it would be easy in that situation for outsiders to misread the situation. The "stage mother" is a cliche that is sometimes valid and sometimes not.

Agreed. No one is going to become world class at anything simply because they were pushed by their parents. If the inner drive isn't there, no chance in hell.

[Canada1]

A friend is on/off (on then off then on, mostly due to finishing college) the team and this couldn’t be more accurate. I’m appalled at how the athletes are treated.


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IThe program here is what has jaded me a bit. Athletes living in their trucks while USA execs and Olympic consultants live in their mansions. But admittedly, I am jaded.

I pay for a kid to train one of my kids one day a week. We know and like him and he is living out of his car. I know several people in town whose gig is to be the expert consultant on pulling off " X" event at the Olympics.

There are athletes like Mikaela that hopefully are set for life. There are a lot that are just making the team and aren't. Things are getting better with the new subsidized housing and the training facilities are amazing, but there are athletes that are still true ski bums.

I see Mikeala and her mom. I saw Lindsey and her first husband, Bode and Ligety and I wonder why most of the skiers that succeed at the highest level are breaking with the team, or using the team as a arm of their training when it suits them. I think the question should be why are our best athletes doing that? Does the model need adjustment, or is it just that those drawn to skiing are elite individuals that work best outside a team dynamic. For me, Mikaela's success shows she should stick with whatever she has been doing, and others should model it if it fits with their life.

[m2711c]

the ghost of bob beattie looms large....

[skiJ]

guys -

She's twenty-five - and If I understand the background correctly, has been doing this for eleven or twelve years
( Burke academy at fourteen ) ;
nothing last forever --

I believe the 2022 Olympics are very much on her radar - provided she still enjoys racing And has enough success this season to have confidence for next season (2022) ...

After 2022, why wouldn't she ,,, consider other interests...

MS is an amazing racer ! I hope she enjoys similar success in the rest of her future... skiJ

pfft - the reason I started the post was to compare MS's career to Anne-Marie Proell --
Anne-Marie missed the 1976 season - including the '76 Olympics - to care for her father ; she was twenty-three.

she came back for 1977, won a sixth WC in '79 And the 1980 Olympic downhill, and retired at twenty-seven - and people marveled that she had raced for so long...


it has also been difficult to watch Lindsey be injured over-and-over again over the last six years of her career...

[Lifty@50]

She is a commodity and she has to profit from her fame now as much as possible. She’s injured now and knows that this may be her last stellar year. If she can keep her brand value up (let’s face it, she’s one hell of an athlete and beautiful) she’ll be set for life. Being a former FIS athlete and Mountain Ambassador / Ski Coach ain’t gonna pay the bills in Vail.


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[skiJ]

( If I read and understood correctly that the Family moved to VT a dozen years ago so MS could attend Burke,
I have an impression the family is not dependent on Work(-ing) income to pay their bills
( I get it that Dr.S was an anesthesiologist, and likely well paid, but their seem to be Life decisions that people who are job-dependent don't ( /can't ) make. ) )

I will be saddened and surprised If MS is trying to earn a living based on celebrity five years from now
( She did build her house in the Vail valley ( so there is that ) ) ; and

yes, She is injured now...

heal-up - try to enjoy this season and decide whether or not to take a run at the 2022 Olympics...

If she is done today,
I still believe she has had one of the five best racing careers all-time!

Thank you, MS ! watching you race is a privilege ! !!
Respectfully. skiJ

[schindlerpiste]

She is a commodity and she has to profit from her fame now as much as possible. She’s injured now and knows that this may be her last stellar year. If she can keep her brand value up (let’s face it, she’s one hell of an athlete and beautiful) she’ll be set for life. Being a former FIS athlete and Mountain Ambassador / Ski Coach ain’t gonna pay the bills in Vail.


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Well that, and Range Rover, and Barilla, and Atomic and yadayadayada. She will do fine.

[Danno]

She is a commodity and she has to profit from her fame now as much as possible. She’s injured now and knows that this may be her last stellar year. If she can keep her brand value up (let’s face it, she’s one hell of an athlete and beautiful) she’ll be set for life. Being a former FIS athlete and Mountain Ambassador / Ski Coach ain’t gonna pay the bills in Vail.


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3rd post in 6 years, impressive. Edit: all 3 posts today. You sat on a registration for 6 years?

I am fairly certain she makes good money and has for a number of years.

[Lifty@50]

Well that, and Range Rover, and Barilla, and Atomic and yadayadayada. She will do fine.

I have no doubt about that. But sponsors, and fans, have a short attention span. I love to watch her race and my daughters are huge fans. Her Mother babysat my wife when she grew up in Lanesborough, MA. It’s a small world.


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[Lifty@50]

I’m out on work release...


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[DBdude]

Congrats!


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[muted]

My reference to Tiger Woods was ONLY to say that he and Mikaela seem to have the same compulsion to train. I certainly didn't mean to compare their character and personality.
There are certainly kids that are pushed too hard by parents. Most of those kids drop out early or wind up splitting from the parents when they can. Most people at the top would do it whether the parents pushed them or not. It's a mistake to analyze the parent child-relationship of gifted athletes and musicians, or of anyone else for that matter, without intimate knowledge.
I will say that as the child shares at least some of their genes with each parent it would not be unusual for the child and one or both parents to be compulsive and it would be easy in that situation for outsiders to misread the situation. The "stage mother" is a cliche that is sometimes valid and sometimes not.

Yah, I know a successful skier who at the verge of landing a new trick would beg lifties to keep the lifts open past closing time, multiple times, multiple locations. Practiced for hours and hours when his peers would not. His drive made him an incredible skier, in a very unstructured coach-less discipline.

[lepowski]

The way ski racers grow up in Europe is way more organic. They live in small mountain towns and ski at their local hill with their friends.

The cultural difference between skiing in NA and Europe is crazy. Lift tickets at the best resorts in the Alps are like 80 bucks. The Euros would freak out if they had to pay 200 bucks to ski. It's an Everyman sport there, like softball is here or something.

[jackstraw]

The cultural difference between skiing in NA and Europe is crazy. Lift tickets at the best resorts in the Alps are like 80 bucks. The Euros would freak out if they had to pay 200 bucks to ski. It's an Everyman sport there, like softball is here or something.

Who can we blame the most? The ambulance chasing attorneys or the corporate greed? Or just 'merica in general.