Mikaela Shiffrin

Born in Vail, Colo., alpine ski racer Mikaela Shiffrin holds a world record as the youngest skier to win the Olympic slalom. She was born with skiing in her blood, as both parents were former ski racers and her older brother, Taylor, raced for the University of Denver Pioneers. She took up skiing at the earliest opportunity and jumped into the 2010-2011 competitive season, the first she was allowed due to the 15-year-old age requirement. She took the podium in four Nor-Am Cup events in a row, including two first-place finishes. Her explosive debut peaked at the 2011 U.S. National Championships, when 16-year-old Shiffrin set a record as the youngest American alpine ski racer to win a national event. At the 2014 Winter Olympics, she won first place in the women's slalom, becoming the Olympics' youngest slalom champion at 18 years and 11 months old. Still in high school, she managed to find time for her studies and graduated on schedule from Colorado's Burke Mountain Academy in 2013. In 2014, NBC featured Shiffrin, along with six other U.S. Olympians, in the televised documentary "How to Raise an Olympian." A knee injury temporarily took her out of competition in 2016, but Shiffrin recovered quickly and began the 2017-2018 season in top form by winning four World Cup races, bringing her total World Cup victories to 35, the second most for any American skier. In January 2018 she qualifed for the U.S. Olympic team, representing the U.S. at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang, South Korea. After arriving in PyeongChang, Shiffrin saw her event postponed twice due to high winds, but persevered to bring home the gold medal in the ladies' giant slalom event. Later in the Games, she was also awarded the silver medal in the ladies' alpine combined event.