Mikaela Shiffrin definitely knows how to mark a win.
After snagging her first gold medal in the women’s slalom since 2018 on Wednesday, she made her social media presence felt for the first time. She shared a photo of herself sprawled on her bed, gold medal proudly hanging around her neck.
Along with the image, her heartfelt message on Instagram encapsulated the challenging eight-year journey back to the top. “I won. I really won. This is the lottery and I won. Oh, and I got a medal too,” she posted.
In a simple tweet, she wrote, “I won.”
That evening, Shiffrin was spotted at the Austria House in Cortina, wearing a Team USA sweater and a black hat. She was seen enjoying the music, clapping, and dancing alongside enthusiastic Austrian fans.
At 30, Shiffrin has now qualified for the 2026 Olympics after a disappointing experience at the 2022 Beijing Games, where she failed to secure a medal in the slalom and giant slalom events.
She also faced challenges earlier, having been injured in a World Cup accident in November 2024. In her first two events at Milan-Cortina—the women’s giant slalom and team combined slalom—she left without any medals. But, she found her way back to victory in her signature event, slalom.
Interestingly, she finished 1.5 seconds behind silver medalist Camille Rust, marking the largest gap in the event since 1998—the same distance that separated Rust from the 13th-place competitor.
With this win, Shiffrin becomes the most decorated American skier ever, boasting 108 World Cup victories and three gold medals. Remarkably, she is also the youngest and oldest American woman to win an alpine gold medal.
“I was solely focused on skiing and, of course, the medals. Winning gold is a dream come true, but at one point this week, I thought, ‘I need to stop dreaming and just ski,’” Shiffrin reflected to NBC post-race.
This medal is particularly significant for her, as it’s the first she’s earned since her father passed away in 2020. Since then, she’s carried that emotional weight, especially after her struggles in 2022.
“This year’s redemption means so much more,” she shared. “I feel like I’ve been reborn. Yet, I still sometimes resist this reality. I don’t want to live this life without my dad. But today might be the first time I can truly accept that this is real.”
Shiffrin is set to leave Milan as an Olympic champion once again, and she’s definitely embracing the celebration.
