Six weeks prior, Mikaela Shiffrin struggled even to rise from a chair due to a serious injury incurred during a giant slalom race on November 30 in Killington, Vermont. An unknown object inflicted serious damage to her oblique muscles, causing excruciating pain with any minor movement or reaction, such as sneezing or laughing.
Shiffrin’s recovery path was challenging, filled with rehabilitation sessions to reactivate critical core muscles after undergoing preventative surgery to address a wound between three muscle layers. Despite her formidable physical trauma, the ski champion is set to return to the World Cup circuit with a slalom competition in Courchevel, France, next Thursday. Rather than fixating on her aim for a 100th win, Shiffrin is concentrating on her progress and her remarkable comeback from an atypical ski racer injury, which required assistance from experts in baseball and hockey to guide her rehabilitation.
“It’s going to be a little bit nerve-wracking, to be honest,” Shiffrin expressed while reflecting on her imminent return. “Over the last six weeks, every step has led me to ponder whether I should be feeling less pain or recovering faster. It’s been a whirlwind of doubts in my mind about my progress.” However, she holds a positive perspective, emphasizing that upon evaluating her journey thus far, it’s an exhilarating milestone to be where she is now.
In analyzing the accident that led to her injury, Shiffrin has revisited the crash numerous times, dissecting the moments leading up to her fall while she was in the lead and poised for that milestone achievement. Essentially, her aggressive approach placed too much weight on her inner ski, causing her to lose control. She later struck the snowy surface, crashed into a gate, and then tumbled into a protective fence, suffering minor injuries, but something punctured her side.
Speculation lingered around the object that injured her, with various theories suggesting it could have been her ski pole or another ski gate component. After medical evaluations, the gravity of her situation became clear—a close call where the object nearly damaged her abdominal wall and colon. “A millimeter away from being quite catastrophic,” she noted, relieved that while there was an injury, it didn’t lead to severe internal harm.
Following her accident, the recovery began with rest and a strategy to manage the inflammation around her oblique muscles, which are essential for rotational and bending motions. Notably, her physical therapist reached out to professionals from major baseball and hockey teams for insights, adopting approaches familiar to treating oblique injuries in other sports. “The key was to ensure we got her moving without pain as soon as possible,” her therapist explained, emphasizing the importance of muscle activation followed by the integration of sport-specific movements.
The rehabilitation was carried out at Shiffrin’s pace, maintaining a delicate balance between pushing her limits and allowing necessary rest days. Initial expectations suggested her recovery could take six to twelve weeks, but the actual duration was uncertain. Chiming in on her recovery journey, Shiffrin remarked, “Every step has taken us farther than we could have anticipated. We’ve been making every effort possible.”
She resumed skiing on January 1, starting with basic runs to reacquaint herself with the motions that aren’t replicable in practice settings. Two weeks later, she returned to slalom practice, beginning with gentle turns. “We took it slow, ensuring that we didn’t overload myself too quickly,” she said, acknowledging the physical demands of each turn, particularly in slalom or giant slalom races.
Earlier this week, Shiffrin encountered a brief scare during training when she hit a snow pile, causing her skis to come too close together, nearly resulting in a fall reminiscent of her accident. “That was intimidating,” she recalled, understanding that she must gradually adapt to similar, sometimes alarming situations inherent in racing.
As she prepares to depart for Europe, Shiffrin plans to elevate the intensity of her training in advance of the Courchevel competition. However, her plan remains adaptable. “If any unforeseen issues arise and it’s not quite right, that’s completely okay,” her therapist said, reiterating the importance of flexibility in her recovery. While Shiffrin will not participate in any downhill races this season, she hasn’t shut the door on the possibility of racing in the super-G event if schedules permit. “For me, it’s about focusing on the task at hand and executing my work to the best of my capabilities.”
