The fine article by Chris Freud about Mikaela Shiffrin, last Sunday, mentioned again the Lindsey Vonn/Bode Miller criticism of Shiffrin for not starting in the speed races at the FIS Alpine Skiing World Championships. These were most unusual, and in my view, very inappropriate, nay, mindboggling comments by a fellow racer and past skiing legend, ones that could only have been upsetting Shiffrin’s training. What in the world were they thinking?
Additionally, choosing to start in the speed races to increase her individual records, Shiffrin probably would have used more financial and coaching resources of the US Ski Team; such resources remained available to other team members to improve the depth of racing results of the team. If this is so, Shiffrin’s decision to not race was not only the wiser but also the unselfish course of action with better payback all around.
Stephen Vastagh
Eagle