RUSSIA: WINTER OLYMPICS - SOCHI 2014 - U.S. teenager Mikaela Shiffrin says she hopes her Olympic slalom gold will help prove to the world that 'miracles are not random'

Record ID: 660038

  • Title: RUSSIA: WINTER OLYMPICS - SOCHI 2014 - U.S. teenager Mikaela Shiffrin says she hopes her Olympic slalom gold will help prove to the world that 'miracles are not random'
  • Date: 22nd February 2014
  • Summary: SOCHI, RUSSIA (FEBRUARY 22, 2014) (REUTERS) WIDE NEWS CONFERENCE
  • Embargoed: 9th March 2014 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Russian Federation
  • Country: Russia
  • Topics: General,Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA15T4WWCQ5YLVXI4A1HZT78W7C
  • Story Text: A desire to prove to the world that people are in charge of their own destiny helped drive Mikaela Shiffrin to win slalom gold, the U.S. teenager told a news conference on Saturday (February 22).
    The 18-year-old's heartstopping second run on the ragged edge catapulted her into the Olympic record books on Friday as the youngest champion in the discipline.
    Shiffrin skied fast and clean through the first leg but almost blew it on the second when she ripped down the top part of the course and made a big error at the midpoint.
    The Vail-born skier's outside ski lifted into the air as she fought for balance before regaining control and finishing 0.53 clear of Austrian silver medallist Marlies Schild.
    Shiffrin called her gold medal a personal miracle that she hoped would inspire those watching.
    "It seems like the Olympics is a lot about the upsets. That's what inspires people because it feels like a miracle, and for the crowd, for the world watching, miracles give them hope that something like that can happen to themselves.
    "My goal coming to the Olympics was to prove to the world that miracles are not random and that you're in charge of your own destiny. You can really control that so I wanted to come here and create my own miracle.
    "Hopefully that inspires the world that it doesn't need to be a random thing," she said.
    The gold was the second in Alpine skiing at the Sochi Games for the U.S. team after Ted Ligety's giant slalom win on Wednesday.
    Despite being the youngest ever skier to win the slalom, Shiffrin had been a favourite and prepared for victory even down to her makeup.
    "I didn't even wear mascara yesterday, thank goodness, but I was like, either waterproof or no mascara because if I start crying, I do not want to look like a witch," she said.
    Asked about her ambitions for the future, Shiffrin said she hoped she would experience accomplishments and failures in her career "because you learn from failures more than accomplishments."
    "When I'm done, I hope that I can look back and say that I changed the sport, that I was innovative and created a new way of skiing and pushed women's ski racing to be faster and more athletic and more exciting for people to watch," she said.
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