Glad to be of service. Read more

Oh hey! And thank you! It’s been a minute :) Read more

Yep, good spot, she often had a higher line too. But her form was different as well. Read more

It’s hard to be too precise about the effect of any one thing in particular, as so many factors come in — there’s the line the skier takes and her angles and turns, but also her strength, endurance, aerobic capacity, fast-twitch muscle response... plus how she’s handling the condition of the course/ruts/ice (which… Read more

Yeah, totally. And on that note, one more thing I’ll add — although I said I’m sure there’s more to Mikaela’s relationship with her mom than meets the eye (because I think that’s true of any intense parent-kid relationship), I think that’s another thing that people tend to jump on and judge that, to me, seems… Read more

Haha, fair point. But ski racing can be a little later than other sports. Vonn’s peak (if you look at her top season, 2012) was at 27, for example. So Shiffrin’s still ahead of the game. Read more

Yes, totally fair to say they took more risks than lots of the other skiers. But I wouldn’t be quite so hard on other racers for *not* taking those risks. It’s not just about protecting points—it’s about protecting your body (and career, and sometimes life). Read more

Thanks! I’ve got a nice little backlog of ski stuff from the last few years now on Deadspin if you care to read more. Read more

::facepalm:: Duh. Thanks. We’ve changed. Read more

It might be where the freeze frame was grabbed. Click through to the videos, stop a hair before that moment and you’ll see what I mean. Read more

Thanks! Read more

Yeah, I hear both of you. Totally true that she sometimes goes off the grid (including on social media) and that she “feels every feel”. (Remember when she vommed before the Olympic slalom?) Same about her mom’s involvement; I’m sure there’s an interesting relationship there beyond what we see (though remember, she… Read more

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Talking strictly skiing. Read more

I imagine there was a degree of envy too. Can’t be easy retiring before you broke the record you really wanted to... while knowing someone else will probably crush that same record without even making it a main focus.  Read more

Do you know her personally? I ask because, while I obviously agree that she feels the pressure and prefers to focus on skiing, she’s never struck me as someone who is highly-strung, nervous and awkward. (Okay, sometimes slightly awkward, but in a quirky, makes-fun-of-herself-for-it kind of way, which I think you can… Read more

She definitely has personality. Fortunately, even if she’s no longer racing, I doubt she’ll be disappearing from the public eye anytime soon. Read more

Yeah, it’s definitely impressive. If you gaf (or at least more of af) about that after reading, then I consider my job here done. Skiing’s probably the most exciting underrated sport out there to US audiences (I’m biased, but still)...  Read more

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