Alpine skiing-Heart broken Shiffrin chasing records and reindeer
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[November 18, 2021]
(Reuters) - Mikaela Shiffrin's back
injury may have healed but she continues to compete with a broken
heart as she returns to the World Cup circuit for two slalom races
this weekend in Levi, Finland where more records and reindeer will
be on offer.
Coming off a win last month in the World Cup season opening giant
slalom in Soelden, Austria, the American all-rounder has been
nursing a nagging back injury that had limited her training at the
U.S. ski team base in Colorado.
But while her back is fine, the 26-year-old Olympic champion said
during a conference call on Wednesday that her heart is still on the
mend following the sudden death of her father in February 2020 in a
home accident.
"There's a lot of people out there with the perspective that somehow
I am not actually a complete athlete or ski racer without having to
overcome a major physical injury," said Shiffrin. "To me that is a
very different story now after my dad.
"It is not a physical injury to a bone, or muscle, or ligament, but
that emotional side of things.
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"The injury of a legitimate broken heart, that's something that has
been taking a long time to get over.
"I feel like that is probably the biggest injury I will ever have in
my career, no matter what happens."
While the focus this season is the Beijing Winter Olympics, where
she plans to contest medals in five disciplines, Shiffrin has plenty
of other prizes to chase in the run up.
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![](../images/111821PIX/sports15.jpg)
Mikaela Shiffrin of the U.S. celebrates on the podium after winning
the Women's Giant Slalom REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
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A sweep of the Levi races would give Shiffrin 47
career slalom wins, moving her past the great Ingemar Stenmark for
the most World Cup victories in any discipline, man or woman.
Stenmark currently owns the mark with 46 giant slalom wins.
With a victory Shiffrin would also add to her small herd of
reindeer.
The winner of the Levi races is gifted a reindeer and Shiffrin
already has four Rudolph (2013), Sven (2016), Mr. Gru (2018), and
Ingemar (2019).
"It's great to be here and actually looking forward to racing and
feel like I am through the worst of the back pain," said Shiffrin.
"I have had a fair amount of success here over the last years, part
of the reason I have quite a few reindeer is because they happen to
start giving reindeer out as a prize when I was in the thick of my
slalom skiing.
"It's a really cool prize."
(Reporting by Steve Keating in Toronto; Editing by Toby Davis)
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