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Although Aleksander Aamodt Kilde impressed during downhill training in Beaver Creek, the Norwegian shook his head a few hours after the second test ride on the “Birds of Prey”. “I have read that some trainers and officials describe the track as too easy because it is not as icy as in Bormio or Kitzbühel. “Such comments irritate me,” hisses the 31-year-old.
Kilde also considers such statements to be ‘complete nonsense’, because two athletes suffered serious falls during training with the Canadian Broderick Thompson and the Chilean Henrik van Appen. “The Birds of Prey is one of the most difficult descents in the world, even without ice.”
And Kilde has shaped this slope like no other: in the past two years, the Viking has achieved four victories here: two in the downhill, two in the Super-G. There are several reasons why the top athlete, who grew up in the Oslo region, feels especially at home in Colorado. “Part of my family lives in Aspen, my brother’s wife is from Denver. And my true love, Mikaela, lives in Edwards, 20 minutes from Beaver Creek.”
The first meeting with Shiffrin
Kilde has been in a relationship with World Cup record winner Mikaela Shiffrin (28, 90 individual World Cup victories) for just over three years. However, the son of an engineer makes no secret of the fact that he became interested in the American ski queen much earlier. «I first met Mikaela during a training camp in Portillo, Chile. I immediately really liked it. But because she was only 16 at the time and I was 19, the time was not yet ripe for a romantic relationship. But I sent her a friend request on Facebook immediately after this meeting.”
For about nine years, the two sent each other rather superficial messages via this channel. Things really got deep in 2020 after the death of Shiffrin’s father. «After this blow of fate, I sent Mikaela a long message. I wrote her that I would always be there for her if she wanted to talk to me. From that moment on we had more and more contact. And it quickly became clear to me that I wanted to have a romantic relationship with this wonderful woman. But somehow I had the feeling that she didn’t want that.”
Departure from Norway
But luckily it was Shiffrin who one day took the decisive step: “Suddenly she confessed to me that she was interested in a relationship with me. And then she asked me if I was interested too. Of course I immediately said yes.”
The two-time downhill World Cup winner can well imagine that he will live in the US after his career with Shiffrin. He left his homeland a long time ago. Kilde’s current main residence is in Innsbruck. «I love Norway, but since skiing mainly takes place in the Alps, I looked for and found a place to stay in Austria. When I traveled back to Norway after almost every World Cup weekend, I often caught a cold on the plane. Since I live in Innsbruck, I no longer have this problem.’
Fight your own association
But a major problem remains. The Norwegian Ski Association still does not allow its athletes to display an individual sponsor’s logo on their helmets. The association claims this area for itself, which means that the Norwegian mountain heroes earn less money than the Swiss or Austrians. This is one of the reasons why reigning World Cup slalom winner Lucas Braathen (23) announced his retirement in October.
Kilde also had tough conversations with the association management last summer. And wants to continue to do so in the future. «It is my big goal that one day I can change the structure within the Norwegian association. I will do everything I can to ensure that the next generation of Norwegian alpine skiers have better conditions.”
A truly impressive guy, this Aleksander Aamodt Kilde.
Source : Blick
I’m Emma Jack, a news website author at 24 News Reporters. I have been in the industry for over five years and it has been an incredible journey so far. I specialize in sports reporting and am highly knowledgeable about the latest trends and developments in this field.
