Mikaela Shiffrin silenced all her doubters on Wednesday with a gold medal win at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. The decorated American athlete entered the slalom final following an eight-year Olympic drought. She failed to medal in all six of her events at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. This streak carried over to this year’s Games, with Shiffrin losing in the team combined and giant slalom competitions.
Shiffrin dominated the slalom race on Wednesday, though. She finished a full 1.50 seconds ahead of Switzerland’s Camille Rast. It was a moment of redemption for Shiffrin, who also became the most decorated U.S. Alpine skier in Olympic history with her fourth overall medal in the Winter Games.
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Shiffrin got emotional after Wednesday’s race. The Vail, Colorado, native could not help but reflect on the death of her father, Jeff Shiffrin, six years ago. Shiffrin’s dad died in a home accident at the age of 65.
Shiffrin fought back tears during her post-race interview. She admitted that it is painful for her to win a gold medal without her dad.
“This was a moment I have dreamed about,” she said. “I’ve also been very scared of this moment. Everything in life that you do after you lose someone you love is like a new experience. It’s like being born again.
“I still have so many moments where I resist this. I don’t want to be in life without my dad. And maybe today was the first time that I could actually accept this reality. Instead of thinking I would be going in this moment without him, to take the moment to be silent with him.”
An emotional Mikaela Shiffrin remembers her late father after winning gold 🥺 #WinterOlympics pic.twitter.com/kQJQpfq1DT
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) February 18, 2026
Shiffrin now has four Olympic medals in her collection. She won gold at the slalom in her Olympic debut in 2014. She added two more in the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics: a gold in the giant slalom and a silver in the combined event.
Shiffrin had her father by her side for all three of her previous medals. This is why Wednesday’s victory was a bittersweet moment for the grieving Olympian.
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