ATHLETES PAY TRIBUTE TO MIKAELA SHIFFRIN'S FAMILY
February 7, 2020 - COLLINGWOOD, ON - Athletes from 12 countries competing in the Raymond James Nor Am Cup, paid an emotional tribute to Jeff Shiffrin, father of US Ski Team super-star Mikaela Shiffrin, on Wednesday. The Olympic gold medalist is mourning her father who died suddenly this week.
"My family is heartbroken beyond comprehension about the unexpected passing of my kindhearted, loving, caring, patient, wonderful father,'' Shiffrin wrote on her official Instagram account. "Our mountains, our ocean, our sunrise, our heart, our soul, our everything. He taught us so many valuable lessons...but above everything else, he taught us the golden rule: be nice, think first.”
With a combination of Shiffrin’s American teammates, fellow international World Cup competitors and young prospect athletes, all competing in this week’s Nor Am event, World Cup veteran and gold medalist Erin Mielzynski, organized the racers to pay tribute.
“When I heard the news of Jeff’s passing my heart broke. I have so many great memories of Jeff from throughout the years. From him standing at the bottom of a Nor Am watching his up and coming daughter to him standing on the side of the hill taking photos with my dad. More recently, I remember Jeff standing with this amazingly goofy smile on his face, proudly watching Mikaela win World Cups, always proud, floored and inspired by how strong and beautifully she skied.” Mielzynski explained.
“To be honest though, I didn’t know Jeff very well, which got me to thinking, ‘how many lives did Jeff actually touch without knowing it?’ I thought about it for some time and knew that we needed to honour Jeff, we needed to show that his memory lives on and that this would be the perfect opportunity to show that Jeff exemplifies exactly what skiing is supposed to be. So along with numerous athletes from many countries we skied a run in memory of Jeff, but also in strength for the Shiffrin family. We stood with our arms around each other, united and contemplative doing the sport that brought us all together and thinking of a man and a family who’s reach goes beyond anything that they can imagine.”
John Mealey, who is co-chairing the Raymond James Nor Am Cup along with his wife Sue Kirby-Mealey, was impressed with all the athletes coming together to show respect.
“The organizing committee was discussing how we could pay tribute when Erin skied right up to us and laid out her idea. She was already two steps ahead of us” Mealey said. “When the athletes did the tribute, there wasn’t a dry eye in sight. Ski racing is truly a tight knit family”.
As for Mielzynski, her goal was simple.
“We want the Shiffrin family to know that our hearts beat with theirs and that Jeff’s spirit lives on in the ski racing community.“