Shiffrin, Brignone and the great confusion of emotions

When Mikaela Shiffrin took her place at the podium in the Méribel media room on Thursday, she was in a really good mood. Because: She won the World Cup medal that she was still missing. Shiffrin has never been a giant slalom world champion. Actually amazing, given her palmarès, which now includes seven world titles, two Olympic gold medals and 85 World Cup victories.

The American was also in a chatting mood. A journalist asked whether she would one day be the greatest athlete of all time. "I do not believe that. Each person assigns this title alone, for some it may be me, for others I am not even part of the discussion,” says Shiffrin. But her permanent smile disappeared when asked another question, namely how she managed to stay focused despite the unrest of the last few days.

Separated from coach As a reminder, Shiffrin separated from her long-time trainer Mike Day late Tuesday evening. If rumors are to be believed, the American informed the coach that she wanted to hire a new coach next season. Day was apparently so angry that he immediately packed his bags and went home. “I had a very high level of stress these days,” said the 85-time World Cup winner.

Shiffrin was overjoyed after the victory and lay down in the finish area. © APA / EXPA/JOHANN GRODER

“It was very difficult to keep focus today. I just want to say thank you to my coach, he was an immensely important part of my team until a few days ago. He helped me in the most beautiful and also in the worst moments - on and off the piste. It's a shame how things turned out and it's a difficult moment, but you have to look forward." Striking: Shiffrin always only speaks of "him", she doesn't use the name. Despite everything, the joy is immense. “Now the pressure is off, I can drive freely in the slalom on Saturday,” the American wants to push away her role as favorite.

Brignone and the turbulent days Shortly before Shiffrin entered the media room, Federica Brignone answered the journalists' questions - with a permanent grin on her face. The reason: She won the silver medal even though the omens weren't the best. “The last few days have not been easy for me,” said Brignone at the press conference and explained: “After the death of Elena Fanchini, our team went through a difficult time. “I’ve also been sick for the last four days.” The Italian woman had a fever and felt miserable and spoke of a “bad week”. “Mentally I was fully there today and that was my great strength.”

The Aostan woman is therefore the big winner of this world championship. After the gold medal in the combination, the silver medal in the giant slalom was added. This means that Brignone now has three World Cup medals, as she had already won giant slalom silver in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 2011.

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Shiffrin, Brignone and the great confusion of emotions

Mikaela Shiffrin and Federica Brignone are the celebrated ski heroines this Thursday because they won World Cup gold and silver. And this despite the fact that they have had moving days behind them.

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