Mikaela Shiffrin’s bid for a 100th World Cup victory ended in a brutal crash on Tuesday night. The 29-year-old American skied into a gate in the giant slalom at Killington, Vermont, and went down hard on her right side. She was rushed to hospital but posted an all-clear that same evening: no broken bones, just deep muscle trauma and a stab wound to her right leg. Shiffrin now faces weeks on the sidelines as she recovers from the worst injury of her late-career surge.
What happened in Killington?
Shiffrin was racing in the Killington giant slalom on 26 November 2024 when her right ski caught a gate at speed. She crashed heavily, landing awkwardly on her right leg. Video showed her grimace and clutch her thigh immediately after impact. Doctors confirmed a deep laceration and severe muscle damage, but X-rays ruled out fractures. In a post on social media that night, Shiffrin wrote: “All good—no major concerns. Just a few weeks off.” She left the hospital the same evening.
Why this matters for Mikaela Shiffrin
The crash derails Shiffrin’s push for her 100th World Cup win, a milestone she’s chased all season. She entered Killington with 99 victories and had been the clear favorite on the snowy Vermont course. The injury also marks her third major crash in 18 months, after a heavy fall in Åre in March 2023 and a knee tweak in Lech in November 2023. Each setback has cost her momentum at pivotal moments. Now she’ll miss at least the next two World Cup weekends, including the parallel events in Zürs.
What comes next for Shiffrin
Shiffrin’s team has not set a return date beyond “a few weeks.” Her next scheduled races are the women’s technical events in Jasná, Slovakia, on 4–5 January 2025. Physical therapists in the U.S. are already mapping a rehab plan focused on rebuilding quad and hamstring strength to prevent stiffness. Shiffrin has vowed to return stronger, but the timeline hinges on how quickly the deep bruising and laceration heal. For now, her rivals—Lena Dürr of Germany and Anna Swenn-Larsson of Sweden—will have a clear path to close the gap in the overall standings.
Wider context: a brutal season for alpine skiers
Shiffrin isn’t alone. Marcel Hirscher tore his ACL in training last month, Niels Hintermann is fighting cancer, and Alexander Kilde is still sidelined by a shoulder infection. The World Cup circuit has lost more top names in the first two months than in any full season in memory. Shiffrin’s absence only deepens the sense of a passing era—and a fragile one.