MIKAELA SHIFFRIN SET TO RETURN TO SKI RACING FOLLOWING DEATH OF FATHER
5th March 2020
Last modified on May 15th, 2021
Mikaela Shiffrin has made the announcement on social media. She is heading to Scandinavia but will make a final decision once there.
Her father died last month and we reported on it at the time on PlanetSKI.
Mikaela Shiffrin heartbroken by father’s death
She is now heading to Are in Sweden for the racing that takes place next weekend.
Here we reproduce her Facebook post in full and the video she has posted.
“Over the last few weeks, my family and I have received an overwhelming amount of support and love.
“The most kind and heartwarming messages you could imagine, checking in on us, sharing quotes and poems, song-lyrics, and telling wonderful stories about my Dad.
“Sometimes it feels like we are drowning in these messages, like we can’t keep up with the support and love that everyone has shown, yet in so many ways it has also been our lifeline.
“We have not been able to respond to everything, but we want you all to know that we feel your love, and we want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for sharing it with us.
“Many have asked how we are doing, and where we are in the “grieving process”?
The truth is, we haven’t really even started.
“Accepting this new “reality” is going to take a long time, and maybe we never truly will, maybe we don’t have to.
“Because we can still feel him here.
“In our hearts, in our thoughts, in the sky and mountains and snow.
“He made his mark, and he is here.
“Many have also asked about my return to skiing and racing.
“I have been able to train a little bit over the last few weeks.
“It has been a slow process, but it has been therapeutic to be on the mountain.
“I’ve found training to be a place where I can feel closer to my dad, yet it provides enough of a distraction so that feeling of “closeness” can be separated from the pain.
“I am flying to Scandinavia today.
“I have no promises if I’ll actually be able to race when the time comes, and I don’t really even have goals.
“I just hope to make a few good turns.
“I think that would make my dad happy.
“If and when I do return to competition I’d ask that you continue to respect my privacy, especially as it relates to my family’s heartbreak.
“We are so thankful for the time we had with him—we cherish every single one of those moments—and we will keep him here in our hearts and our memories forever.”
https://www.facebook.com/MikaelaShiffrin/videos/193411168554781/?__tn__=%2Cd%2CP-R&eid=ARBtptoToKIWchsRXSgetOSjxVIYCUWcdZX0B1TEMFzcKSYwVBeEyulxETOvpyeKmTxIvWJsF1QQJr1l
