Mikaela Shiffrin Got Emotional While Talking About Winning Gold Without Her Late Dad

Alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin's Olympic drought came to an end on Wednesday when she at long last captured another gold medal in women's slalom, 12 years after her first in that same event and four years after she inexplicably left Beijing empty-handed.

But as she reveled in her big win, there was still something missing. Not just in Milan, but in the world.

Speaking to reporters after her trip atop the podium, Shiffrin opened up about the difficulty of celebrating life's biggest milestones in the absence of her father, who died unexpectedly in 2020.

"This was a moment I have dreamed about. I've also been very scared of this moment," an emotional Shiffrin told the room. "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 be in life without my dad," she said, her voice breaking.

"And maybe, today was the first time that I could actually accept this reality? And instead of thinking I would be going in this moment without him, [I could] take the moment to be silent with him," she concluded.

Incredibly poignant remarks that are sure to resonate with anyone who has grieved or is grieving the loss of a loved one.

Listen to that below:

Mikaela Shiffrin opens up about the experience of winning Olympic gold without her dad by her side after he passed away in 2020, and how she finally felt able to "accept this reality" 🤍#MilanoCortina2026 #AlpineSkiing pic.twitter.com/4Q6MZeSdyo
— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) February 19, 2026

Jeff Shiffrin, 65, died in February of 2020 following an accident at his home in Colorado.

“My family is heartbroken beyond comprehension about the unexpected passing of my kindhearted, loving, caring, patient, wonderful father. Our mountains, our ocean, our sunrise, our heart, our soul, our everything," Mikaela wrote in a Facebook post at the time. "He was the firm foundation of our family and we miss him terribly. Thank you, from the depths of my heart, for respecting my family’s privacy as we grieve during this unimaginable and devastating time.”

Shiffrin has since been candid about the depths of her grief in the wake of her father's death. Speaking in an episode of adidas' Illuminated docuseries released earlier this month, Shiffrin's mother admitted she wasn't even sure if her daughter had it in her to keep skiing.

"We lost our rock, the person that we all loved the most," Eileen Shiffrin, Mikeala's mother, said. "I didn’t think Mikaela would ever ski again. I don’t think she thought she would, either."

Well, not only did Shiffrin return to the mountain, she proved to herself that she could truly overcome anything—including a PTSD-inducing crash in 2024—to do so. Her story was one of much public intrigue heading into this year's Games, and she will now leave Milan much lighter, that pesky, gold medal-shaped monkey off her back. Her father, of course, would be very proud.

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