Mikaela Shiffrin is so good that she can win four medals at a single world championships and still have her season labeled a letdown. Brands eager to be associated with that kind of success will pay a premium.
Just how good is Mikaela Shiffrin? Consider that she won four medals at last year’s alpine skiing world championships and her season was labeled a letdown. The expectations are sky high—understandable for an American who won Olympic gold at age 18, became the first skier to win 17 World Cup races in a single season in 2018-19 and set the career mark for victories in a single World Cup discipline last month, breaking Swedish legend Ingemar Stenmark’s record by posting her 47th victory in slalom. Shiffrin has said she hopes to race in all five individual alpine skiing events at the Beijing Games; with three Olympic medals already under her belt, she would become the most decorated alpine skier in Olympic women’s history by reaching the podium in four of those events. That is a tall order, and a grueling schedule, but if anyone is capable, it’s Shiffrin, who is still just 26 and in her prime. Brands eager to be associated with that kind of success are watching closely.
