WOMEN Mikaela Shiffrin U.S. JUNIOR ALPINE SKIER OF THE YEAR
Last season, Vail’s Mikaela Shiffrin got a taste of
the World Cup with two starts (both DNQs) at just 15
years old. At the ripe old age of 16, she ripped right
into her first real whack at a full season on the World
Cup tour.
Shiffrin skipped the baby steps and proceeded to
monster strides of progress, taking advantage of
her first World Cup finish by scoring an eighth-place
result on home snow in the Aspen slalom. In her
next finish, three races later, she accomplished what
some racers toil for years on the World Cup tour to
earn, grabbing a podium finish with a third-place
result in the Lienz slalom. Five more scoring results,
including two more top-10s, persuaded her fellow
racers to award her the season’s FIS Rookie of the
Year trophy at World Cup Finals.
“This season has been a whirlwind of experiences
for me,” said Shiffrin at season’s end. “It was all
ends of the spectrum. I’ve had a lot of amazing
results, and I’m really happy that I got those in there,
because it’s made this season, as my rookie season,
worth all the hard work.”
Back on home snow, Shiffrin successfully defended
her slalom national title in sunny Winter Park. Shiffrin
has won this honor three years running, approaching
Julia Mancuso’s record of four.
