Mikaela Shiffrin was already a certified legend before even a single flake of snow was disturbed at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics. But when she won on Feb. 18, she simultaneously ended an eight-year drought without a win and became the first American alpine skier to win three Olympic gold medals.
Everyone loves a comeback story. Shiffrin now holds the record as both the youngest and oldest American woman to win an Olympic alpine gold medal — and she did it with style, winning by one of the largest margins ever recorded in the discipline. But when she finally had the chance for an interview, Shiffrin’s personal life also took over the proceedings, much like it has for other athletes at the Olympics.
She told the press that this was the first time she was actually able to accept the reality of her father, Jeff Shiffrin, no longer being present in her life.
Who was Jeff Shiffrin?
We’ve already seen just how much photography and recording have revolutionized how we speak about the Olympics and how sports more broadly affect the world we live in today. For Jeff, his professional journey started in a hospital, where after working as an anesthesiologist, his passion for skiing and photography eventually led him to accompany Mikaela to her World Cup races. There, he stayed behind the lens to capture her performances.
TIME magazine recounted that the last time he photographed Mikaela at the Olympics was also the last time she won a gold medal, in PyeongChang, South Korea. That day, he sat in the cold and photographed not just his daughter, but every racer in the competition.
What happened to Jeff Shiffrin? Jeff Shiffrin’s accident, explained
In 2020, when Jeff was 65, he had an unexpected accident at his home in Colorado. Reports revealed that he was working on the roof when he suddenly fell to the ground and suffered a severe head injury.
Jeff passed away days later. He was survived by his wife, his son Taylor, and, of course, his three-time gold medalist daughter, Mikaela.
Final moments with her family
Unfortunately, with life, you never know which conversation will be your last with someone. For Mikaela and her mother, Eileen, they weren’t even around when the accident happened. The two were in Europe for World Cup ski competitions.
They flew back immediately and were able to join Jeff at his bedside in a Denver-area hospital. Mikaela reportedly stayed with him until his last breath. She released a statement on Instagram afterward celebrating Jeff, which read in part, “He taught us so many valuable lessons, but above everything else, he taught us the golden rule: be nice, think first. This is something I will carry with me forever. He was the firm foundation of our family and we miss him terribly.”
Lasting Tributes
Mikaela took the loss in the hardest way imaginable; she even considered retiring at 24. After a significant hiatus, she returned not only to the sport, but also with the Jeff Shiffrin Athlete Resiliency Fund, which has since raised millions for developing athletes in the U.S. To this day, Mikaela still races wearing a locket with a picture of Jeff, inscribed with the words, “Always with you, love Dad.”
When Mikaela finally faced the media to explain how different this win felt without her father, she said, “I’ve also been very scared of this moment. Everything in life that you do after you lose someone you love is like a new experience. It’s like being born again. I still have so many moments where I resist this. I don’t want to be in life without my dad. And maybe today was the first time that I could actually accept this reality.”
With tears rolling down her cheek, Mikaela continued, “Instead of thinking I would be going into this moment without him, I took the moment to be silent with him.”
Published: Feb 19, 2026 04:22 am