Mikaela Shiffrin had a banner year in 2023. On March 11, she notched her 87th World Cup win, breaking the record for most career victories, held for 34 years by Swede Ingemar Stenmark, considered by many to be the most successful ski racer of all time. Shiffrin is now the winningest racer in World Cup history鈥攁nd at 28 years old, she has plenty of time to add to the tally.
She has a lot going for her, to say the least. Incredible discipline, strength, technical skill鈥攜ou name it. But Shiffrin has long said that the secret to her success isn鈥檛 her time in the gym or a perfect ski tune. It鈥檚 her mom, Eileen Shiffrin. Eileen has coached and traveled with Mikaela since her first season on the World Cup circuit, at age 15.
Eileen is a former masters ski racer herself, but by the time Mikaela was notching her first results, she鈥檇 settled into a career as an ICU nurse. Eileen never set out to be a ski coach. But it was a natural fit, and the two Shiffrins made a remarkable, inseparable team. The few times Eileen has stepped away from her coaching role鈥攐nce in 2015, and again in 2019鈥擬ikaela鈥檚 results suffered. In 2020, they weathered the loss of Jeff Shiffrin, husband and father.
Instead of assigning a writer to interview Mikaela about her year, we decided we would pass the mic to Eileen, so she could ask her daughter about relationships, success, life in the public eye, and what鈥檚 next. They recorded this interview while Mikaela was in Portillo, Chile, for a preseason training camp.
EILEEN SHIFFRIN: Last season was a really big year for our team. I know you said it was the first season since Dad passed where you really felt like you could focus for two runs on race day. I know you focus on process rather than on goals, but what did it feel like to reset Ingemar鈥檚 record? What motivates you now that that鈥檚 in the rearview?
MIKAELA SHIFFRIN: The whole time, I was mostly worried that I was going to break the record when you weren鈥檛 there. I was feeling the pressure, and I just didn鈥檛 want to think about it anymore. Then you came back to help with the season, and that was a deciding factor for me subconsciously. I thought, If it happens here I鈥檓 OK with it, because Mom鈥檚 here. It was like the universe said, It鈥檚 OK to do it now, because your family鈥檚 here. Let loose.
Once I did it, it just felt hectic. You get about ten and a half seconds to yourself, and then you鈥檙e thrown to the media and you have to start talking about how you feel before you鈥檝e processed how you feel. I鈥檝e realized that if you don鈥檛 let it sink in within the first 24 hours, it just never will. It鈥檚 been cool to come to camp and ski and not think about the record at all. I鈥檓 focused on working on my position, my downhill performance, and getting better at gliding. With slalom, there鈥檚 room for more precision. It鈥檚 really exciting to think that I still might be able to get faster.
Would you say that your motivation comes from making small improvements over time?
Right, the record wasn鈥檛 a limit. It was just the furthest that anyone had gone up until that point.
It was a result of the process, which has always been your guiding light. The result was resetting Ingemar鈥檚 record. But what keeps you motivated is the process, and continuing to set yourself apart with better skiing. How has your relationship to being in the public eye changed since you first started getting attention for your racing?
I鈥檓 actually really interested to hear what you think about this one.
OK! I feel like you鈥檙e more comfortable than when you first started getting attention for your racing. I think it was exciting for you in the beginning, but also tiring. The hardest part was that you鈥檙e an introvert, and you were put in the spotlight.
It forced me to be more comfortable with myself. I still think back to the days at Burke Mountain Academy. If I had to go alone to the dining hall, I just wouldn鈥檛 go鈥擨鈥檇 skip meals, because I had such a fear of showing up to a room alone. It鈥檚 already full, there are no seats open, and you鈥檙e just carrying your tray and standing there. Everybody鈥檚 already in their conversation. I felt like nobody was missing me, and I shouldn鈥檛 be there. That鈥檚 still my natural instinct. But somehow I鈥檓 more comfortable with just doing what I need to do, and existing how I want to exist, and not worrying about what eyes are on me anymore.
You and I have a multifaceted relationship. I鈥檓 your mom, and to some extent your manager and coach. We鈥檙e also best friends. A lot of people assume that it was hard for us to develop this dynamic. How do you feel about the relationship we have? Was it ever hard for you to trust me?
I remember when I was at Burke, and you had gotten a job nearby as a nurse at the St. Johnsbury Hospital, so you would be close when Taylor [her brother] and I were at boarding school. I remember you telling me about one of the parents who said something along the lines of, 鈥淒on鈥檛 you think it鈥檚 kind of strange for you and Mikaela to still be so close?鈥 I think I was 14 at the time. And that鈥檚 a perspective a lot of people have had through our whole relationship, as you鈥檝e developed from my mom to my coach to literally the manager of Team Shiffrin. I remember us both being frazzled by that question. Like, what鈥檚 wrong with being close to your family? What could possibly be wrong with that?
I felt like it was such a gift for us to be close. It also set me apart through my ski career鈥攖o have that closeness with you, and with Dad and Taylor, and just with family in general. There have been periods of time when I鈥檝e been a little bit more difficult. But the fundamental premise in our family philosophy is to be close, loving, and caring. It has carried me through my career.