While it is true that Colorado boasts some of the best skiing in the United States, there are a few skiers who Coloradans are proud to call our own when they make it to the Olympic Games. Last week, the sister of DU’s own Division One skier Taylor Shiffrin went one step further into stardom when she won gold at Sochi. Many may have heard the name Mikaela Shiffrin while watching the Alpine Skiing events of the Olympics this past week. She competed in the Giant Slalom event on Feb. 18, placing fifth, and in the Slalom event Feb. 21, bringing home the gold medal for Team USA.
Mikaela’s brother, Taylor Shiffrin, a sophomore mechanical engineering and accounting double major from Vail and Division I skier at DU, shared some insight into him and his sister’s background and lives ski racing.
Both siblings boast their own variety of accomplishments. Aside from competing in Sochi, Mikaela won the world championships last year; at 17 years old, she was the youngest woman in 42 years to have done so. She was also crowned the Slalom World Cup champion and is currently ranked as the best slalom skier in the world. Taylor himself was a part of the U.S. Ski Team out of high school for a year before being recruited to ski for DU. He has Olympic aspirations for after college; while the average competition age for women is 20-24 years, it is slightly later for men at 28-32 years. This puts Mikaela’s skiing career first and schooling after.
“She’s definitely said she wants to go to college…. She told me she’d prefer to go here since I go here and could show her the ropes,” said Shiffrin.
According to Shiffrin, it was a no-brainer to compete in ski racing for both he and his sister.
“Both of our parents are skiers, my dad raced in college, my mom raced. I mean when you’re born in Vail you kind of have to be a skier or snowboarder so we just fell right into it,” said Shiffrin.
The siblings both began skiing as soon as they learned to walk; they used to train together when they were younger and throughout high school.
“We would chase each other around the mountain all the time,” said Shiffrin.
While Taylor enjoys recreational and free skiing, he claimed that Mikaela used to skip the early morning free skiing sessions in lieu of the training later in the day.
“She just loved the rhythm of the gates. She’s very musical; she thought of it as a dance with the hill,” said Shiffrin.
Now, with each pursuing their sport in different arenas, they do not get the opportunity to ski together all the time. Both siblings train and compete year-round, traveling to the Southern Hemisphere in the summer to take advantage of their winter. Though her career dictates that Mikaela live in Europe during the season, the two of them get to see each other and train together during the off-season.
Through the separation, they keep their bond as siblings strong.
“We’re really close. The best way to describe [our relationship] would just be goofy. Any sibling would be able to relate to the miscellaneous goofy things you do around each other that nobody else would get, the inside jokes. It’s pretty much the same as anybody else who has a closer relationship with their siblings,” said Shiffrin.
Although Shiffrin was in Beaver Creek over the weekend competing with the DU team in the NCAA Regionals, he watched his sister’s second and best event on Friday, with the live feed airing from Sochi at 2 a.m.
“I am unbelievably proud of my sister and all of her accomplishments. She is the most dedicated and hardworking person I know and the Olympic gold medal she just won is simply more evidence to support that,” said Shiffrin after his sister’s win on Friday.
By all appearances, both Shiffrins have huge futures ahead of them in alpine skiing and both are embarking on a journey that is just getting started.
