It has been a long couple weeks for the racers in the world championships located in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. Mikaela Shiffrin was the four time consecutive world champion in slalom from 2013-19. On Saturday, February 20, 2021, her reign came to end in Cortina. Austrian racer, Katharina Leinsberger, took over first place with an incredible run, beating Shiffrin by 1.30 seconds. This is the largest deficit in a slalom race since January 10, 2017.
Watch the attached video of Leinsberger’s winning run and comment what you think of this win! Come back for more news soon!
Athletes all over the world are experiencing mental health issues. No matter the age, gender, sport, or ethnicity, all professional athletes deal with something personal that may make them put down their equipment and step away from the sport they love forever.
90% of sports are mental, and when we don’t prepare our minds right, it can lead to mental health problems. Here in the U.S., 35% of athletes suffer from mental health problems. This comes from the fact that coaches from youth levels, to high school, to professional levels, spend all their time on the physicalities and skills rather than making sure their players have a healthy mind.
“Among professional athletes, data shows that up to 35% of elite athletes suffer from a mental health crisis which may manifest as stress, eating disorders, burnout, or depression and anxiety,” (Athletes for Hope).
Professional ski racers, such as Mikaela Shiffrin and Alice Merryweather both have been struggling mentally for the past few years.
Alice Merryweather, an up and coming US ski team star, has taken herself away from racing for the time being. She was recently diagnosed with a restricted eating disorder, which she announced on Dec. 9, 2020. This has caused her to lose interest and the joy she gets from skiing.
Alice Merryweather after finishing a slalom run before coming out to the news about her restricted eating disorder. (Picture from ski racing)
“Ski racing will be there when I’m ready, and I’m optimistic that I’ll be ready again soon,” Merryweather said.
It is important to be able to back away from what you love, if it is the cause of a mental health problem. The sport will always be there, but your mental health is irreplaceable.
As a former youth club racer, I understand how during the race season your mental health might not be where it should be. I never had severe problems while racing, however, I still had some issues to deal with.
I got very anxious before every race. It made it hard for me to sleep the night before, and to stay focused while I was in the starting gate. My legs would tense up, my hands would shake, my heart would be racing, and my mind would be exploring all of the ways I could end up hurt if I went down that course.
My anxiety didn’t affect my skiing, just affected the lead up to my races. Once I would start skiing, I would be fine because skiing is something that I love.
After 4 years, I did end up walking away from ski racing because the anxiety at a race was too much for me. Now I am a ski instructor and I still love to ski in my free time. I didn’t lose the love of skiing because of racing, if anything, I love it more.
Mikaela Shiffrin, a U.S. gold medal and world cup champion ski racer, has had her struggles with mental health and the sport she loves as well.
Early 2020, Mikaela’s father passed away unexpectedly. Her father was not only her biggest supporter in racing, but he was her ski coach as well. Losing him created a gaping whole in her love for skiing.
Mikaela Shiffrin has been back to racing and has won the world championship combined race in Cortina, Italy this past week. She is now the most decorated American alpine skier in the event with 6 world championship wins. (Picture from EuroSport)
She stepped away from racing for months, during that time she contemplated her future and she wanted to find her love of skiing, since her father passed.
Mikaela Shiffrin has been back to racing since her time off. “I don’t want to end my career as a ski racer on this note of having to step away from the sport because of a family tragedy,” Shiffrin said.
Bottom line is that it is important to take care of yourself first. Everyone has hard times, and it is okay to want and get help. Don’t let the fear of embarrassment or insecurities get in the way of helping yourself become better and allow you to find love in your sport or passions again.
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