The curse from Beijing ended as Mikaela Shiffrin crossed that line at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Center in a total time of 1:39.10 to secure her career-third Olympic gold medal. It was long overdue. The last time she achieved an Olympic gold was back in PyeongChang 2018 giant slalom. However, in an emotional confession, she confirmed that this victory represented something far more profound than athletic achievement.

At a press conference following her podium ceremony, a visibly moved Shiffrin recalled her late father, Jeff, stating, “This was a moment I have dreamed about. 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 and I still have so many moments where I resist this. I don’t want to I don’t want to be in life without my dad.”

Her father wasn’t just a mere spectator in her skiing journey but someone who had supported her from her early days. Jeff Shiffrin, an anesthesiologist and former Dartmouth ski racer, died on February 2, 2020, at age 65 after falling from the roof of the family’s Colorado home and suffering head trauma. Mikaela and her mother, Eileen, were in Europe at the time and rushed home, arriving in time to spend his final hours with him.

So, basking in glory following this Olympic gold medal wasn’t an easy task for her.

“And maybe today was the first time that I could actually accept this like reality and instead of thinking I would be going in this moment without him to take the moment to be silent with him and with the whole team with me who’s here with me now and with my mom who is here with me now and has been with me since the beginning. It was just like a little bit more spiritual than I usually am but I’m really grateful for that,” the 30-year-old added.

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Her victory? It was a masterpiece! Mikaela Shiffrin posted a first run of 47.13 seconds, then cruised through her second run in 51.97 seconds to finish in a combined 1:39.10. Switzerland’s Camille Rast took silver with a gap of 1.50 seconds, while Sweden’s Anna Swenn Larsson claimed bronze. And her victory was celebrated by her fiancé and her compatriots.

Mikaela Shiffrin received support from everywhere

For Mikaela Shiffrin, the Olympic gold medal in slalom came slowly, following her 11th place in the giant slalom and a fourth-place finish with teammate Johnson in the team event. However, the support was huge.

Her fiancé, Norwegian alpine skier Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, who missed these Games due to injury, took to his Instagram story with a simple yet powerful message, stating, “She did it again.” Her fellow Team USA skiers, Breezy Johnson and Lindsey Vonn, also had heartwarming messages for the 30-year-old.

“So proud of this lady!!! 2x slalom champ!!!!” Johnson wrote, while Vonn mentioned, “Huge congrats @mikaelashiffrin!!”

However, from her major crash in Killington almost two years ago to standing on the podium was tough on her emotionally, as she said, “Today I showed up for the skiing. I wanted to have two runs with really strong slalom skiing. Now to be through that is a little bit challenging to process. In the end, today, showing up – that was the thing I wanted most. More than the medal. Now, to also get to have a medal is unbelievable.”

Shiffrin now has four Olympic medals in total, tying Julia Mancuso for the most by an American woman in alpine skiing, and the world is hungry for more action from her.