This is how she plans to beat Gut-Behrami: Women’s power should lead Shiffrin to the overall World Cup

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Who will win the overall World Cup? It’s over for the men: Marco Odermatt (26) has more than twice as many points as second-placed Cyprien Sarrazin (29, Fr) – 1406:684. For the women, the starting position is completely open: Mikaela Shiffrin (28, USA) is 95 points ahead of Lara Gut-Behrami (32) – there are still 15 races to go. A Hitchcock finale!

If you believe the Ticino resident, she turns a blind eye to this review. “I am not interested in the World Cup as a whole at the moment. There are so many races coming up – we will see more in March,” she says. The large glass ball would be the icing on the cake of an excellent season.

And with Shiffrin? For her the starting point is different. She said months ago that the overall World Cup was her big goal this season – she would win it for the sixth time and overtake ski legend Annemarie Moser-Pröll (6 wins).

Mother Eileen is always there for Shiffrin

The decisive factor will be how quickly Shiffrin recovers from the sprained knee ligament she sustained during her departure from Cortina (Italy). In any case, the 95-time World Cup winner relies on female power in her mission!

Her main caregiver is mother Eileen (64) – she trained “Mika” as a child and teenager. She is now always there, giving tips, filming her runs, organizing, planning and encouraging her when her daughter doesn’t run the way she wants.

The second important woman at Shiffrin’s side is Megan Harrod. For the ski genius, she is much more than just her communications manager. Harrod is also a good friend who protects her when she needs peace and quiet. How much Shiffrin means to her is evident from the fact that the new mother already accompanies her there despite the hardships of the journey.

The only female head coach in the ski circuit

The third important woman at Shiffrin’s side is Karin Harjo. The Norwegian was born in Japan to missionary parents, studied molecular biology, has been working in the ski circus for 24 years and is currently the only female head coach. She has been at Shiffrin’s side since the spring of 2023.

“She not only has a lot of experience, but also has a huge analytical background. Karin is just a great trainer,” Shiffrin said recently. She doesn’t want to talk about promoting women. “It doesn’t matter to me whether my coach is a man or a woman. It’s about us working well together. Karin inspires me just like everyone else in my team.”

Source : Blick