So you’re tired of stories about athletes who break the law, abuse their positions and take their athletic gifts with a sense of entitlement? I am, too. Fortunately those are the exception in Olympic sports. I love this story about Mikaela Shiffrin, the phenomenal 19-year-old ski racer from Eagle/Vail.
You should read the and watch the video that goes with it, but here’s a quick synopsis: In 2012, Shiffrin picked up her first career World Cup win at a slalom race in Ã…re, Sweden. After the race, she met a young cancer victim from Örnsköldsvik, the same hometown as former Avs star Peter Forsberg. Shiffrin was deeply moved and wrote a Facebook post about it at the time.
Now that young girl, Emma Lundell, is past chemotherapy and doing well. Shiffrin is in Soelden, Austria, training for the World Cup season opener Oct. 25. The Swedish newspaper tracked her down the other day to show her a video of Lundell thanking her. The newspaper captured Shiffrin’s reaction on video and it is priceless. Shiffrin cried and you might, too.
