yesterday 18:00
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Mikaela Shiffrin skied through a hectic January practically without a break, but even that didn’t stop her from expanding her collection of achievements.
In a month, she managed to start in 11 races and two timed training sessions in five different countries and six centers. She stood on the podium seven times, five times as a winner. Although she did not win the last race in the World Cup before the World Championships, her second place ensured that she will travel to the championship as the best slalom skier of the season.
“We have been going non-stop for the last few months. It was so many amazing races, I didn’t expect to win them all. But I didn’t even think that I would win ten this season. Maybe I didn’t risk enough to win again, but to get on the podium with second place and secure the slalom globe is amazing for me.” she stated after the weekend in Špindlerův Mlyn.
The small globe was just the end of a successful month. In Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, she equaled compatriot Lindsey Vonn in the number of World Cup triumphs. Subsequently, she surpassed it in the Italian Kronplatz and became the new holder of this record among women, thereby also stepping behind the record of Ingemar Stenmark, who won the most events in total.
It wasn’t just beating statistics that drew attention to the skiing star. After she made history, she honestly admitted in interviews that it was more difficult for her to race. The reason was supposed to be greater fatigue, under which, among other factors, menstruation also contributed.
It is not customary for female athletes to openly talk about this topic. Mikaela Shiffrin doesn’t see anything wrong with it and no reason to stigmatize it. “I didn’t make any decisions, I just said it and then everyone went crazy. It’s a super normal thing, some people don’t care and others think it’s cool to talk about it.” she explained in Špindlerův Mlyn.
A minor commotion was also caused by a faulty translation by the Austrian ORF television, which confused the lunar cycle with cycling. The American skier made a joke about it through a video on social networks and mentioned in the description that she was talking about her period.
“Most of the women in the World Cup carousel are probably on the same day in their cycle because we’ve synchronised. Most men probably don’t even know about this. We’re all really tired at the same time, it’s definitely not just me, but I’m the only one who said that in an interview. It’s normal and it’s not scary, just a little ugly, but beautiful at the same time.”
