Mikaela Shiffrin to Return to World Cup After Six-Week Break

Two-time Olympic champion skier Mikaela Shiffrin announced she'll return to World Cup racing at the International Ski Federation Alpine Skiing World Cup in Åre this week.

Shiffrin hasn't competed since the death of her father, Jeff, in early February. 

"Åre has held a special place in my heart since the beginning of my career, and it feels like the right place to rejoin my World Cup family and try to race again," she wrote on Twitter. "That said, the heartbreak remains, so I will be limiting my interactions with the media, fans, and competitors."

On Feb. 2, Jeff Shiffrin, who was an anesthesiologist in Vail, Colo., passed away unexpectedly. He was known to many in the skiing community since he attended many of her World Cup circuit races and global championship races.

She spent much of her time away from the sport with her family in Vail. She was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated in February, accompanied by a story by Greg Bishop about her dominance and dealing with the death of her father.

Mikaela plans to compete in the parallel giant slalom on Thursday and then the giant slalom and a slalom in the following days. Her last competition was a victory in a super-G in Bansko, Bulgaria on Jan. 26. She returned to practice in Scandanavia a week ago.

Åre is where she notched her first career win in 2012 and where she won her fourth consecutive slalom world title in 2019.

The finals in Cortina d'Ampezzo have been cancelled due to the spread of the coronavirus outbreak in Italy.