Mikaela Shiffrin Wins 100th World Cup After Brutal Crash

Mikaela Shiffrin was seconds from making history in her home state of Vermont when everything went wrong.

The American skiing legend, already the winningest alpine skier ever, slipped during her second run in November 2024. She struck a gate, somersaulted onto her back, and crashed into protective netting with such force that she suffered a stab wound through her abdominal muscles.

The injury required surgery and months of rehab. But the physical pain wasn't the hardest part.

When Shiffrin returned to training in Europe weeks later, her mind betrayed her. She watched her teammates ski and thought, "I did know how to do that, but I can't." At the start gate, her brain flooded with images of the crash happening again, in new places, with new pain.

"I could feel the pain," the 30-year-old recalled. "That was probably the scariest thing."

The sensation reminded her of losing her father in 2020, after a sudden accident in their Colorado home. She calls both experiences a "grief fog" that zaps your energy and makes it impossible to think straight some days.

But Shiffrin treated her comeback like exposure therapy. Repeated runs down the mountain slowly eased her fears. She won the combined event at the World Championships alongside fellow American Breezy Johnson. Then in late February, in Sestriere, Italy, she finally notched that milestone 100th World Cup victory.

"I still get those thoughts about crashing," she admits. "You just get a little numb to them. I'm aware of the risks. But I'm not beholden to them."

Why This Inspires

Shiffrin's comeback proves that even the greatest athletes face fear and doubt. Her honesty about mental struggles breaks the silence around trauma in sports. She didn't just push through the pain; she acknowledged it, worked with it, and found her way back to the top.

Her World Cup win total now sits at 108, a staggering 22 victories ahead of the previous record holder. She started this season with five straight slalom victories and leads the overall World Cup standings heading into her fourth Olympic Games in Milano Cortina.

But beyond the numbers, Shiffrin has started a podcast called "What's the Point With Mikaela Shiffrin" where she talks openly with fellow athletes about loss, pressure, and finding meaning in competition. She's using her platform to show that vulnerability doesn't weaken champions—it makes them human.

At 30, she's managing age, injury recovery, and the weight of expectations while still dominating her sport. Recovery takes longer now, she says, and her body hurts more. But she's learned to dance with the challenges rather than fight them.

For anyone facing their own comeback, Shiffrin's message is clear: the fear doesn't disappear, but you can move forward anyway.