Frank words after gold

Shiffrin: “He couldn’t really touch me”

Mikaela Shiffrin(Bild: Sepp Pail)

Open words from team combined world champion Mikaela Shiffrin! Her fiancé Aleksander Aamodt Kilde was a special support after her serious fall in November, but: "He couldn't really touch me because everything hurt. You lie in bed and just hold hands."

After suffering an abdominal injury in the giant slalom in Killington in November and having to undergo surgery, the US American had to take a long break. She returned on January 30th in Courchevel in tenth place in the slalom, and at the World Championships in Saalbach she resisted the temptation to form the "181 World Cup-winning pair" with Lindsey Vonn, choosing downhill world champion Breezy Johnson and taking team combined gold.

Mikaela Shiffrin (left) and Breezy Johnson celebrated World Championship gold.(Bild: Sepp Pail)

Her biggest support during the rehab phase was Aleksander Aamodt Kilde. "He was able to come to Colorado right at the start. He was there for ten days, which was wonderful," Shiffrin describes in the Eurosport interview, but also speaks of "a big challenge to be away from him so much". At least she was able to see her loved one shortly before the team combined. "Just for one night." And: "It was much nicer than at the beginning (editor's note: the injury)," smiles Shiffrin.

15th World Championship medal
Incidentally, it was the 29-year-old's 15th medal at a World Championships; she now has eight gold, four silver and three bronze medals to her name. She will still be competing in the slalom on the Zwölferkogel on Saturday; she has already won four World Championship titles in this discipline. She has 99 successes in the World Cup.