Mikaela Shiffrin taking it 'day by day' after Italy crash

The renowned American skier, Mikaela Shiffrin crashed during a downhill run at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. The brutal accident occurred in the first stages of the World Cup downhill. Shiffrin needed an urgent medical evacuation off the mountain to assess injuries further!

The American skier is considered one of the best at her sport. According to the Associated Press, she holds a total of 95 World Cup titles under her belt. Regardless of experience, nothing can prepare you for such an impact.

The Independent reported on the incident, describing how Mikaela Shiffrin crashed into the safety nets at a high speed after losing control on a landing maneuver.

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Shiffrin lost control while landing a jump in a patch of soft snow, about 20 seconds into her run.  Shiffrin then slammed into the safety nets at extremely high speeds. She fell in the upper portion of the Olympia della Tofane course that will be used for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics according to Men's Journal.

Her coach, Paul Kristofic told the Associated Press: "She's [Mikaela Shiffrin] actually quite good. She's positive and in a certain way relieved, because it could have been worse. But she's pretty sore as you are for most speed crashes. But she was quite upbeat about things."

"It's tricky there because you're landing it and it's a left-footed turn that has a pretty sharp drop. And she was carrying more speed than she did in the training run. Then she probably trimmed a little more line than she should have. And it pushed her about a meter too far left. And that's where the terrain change is quite abrupt," shared her coach Kristofic.

Luckily for Shiffrin, she avoided any major setbacks. According to the Associated Press, she didn't appear to have any ligament damage and both knees seemed to be in relatively good condition. "Initial analysis shows the ACL and PCL seem intact," shared Shiffrin's team during an official statement.

Great news for the American skier, who wrote on Instagram, "very thankful it's not worse, but I'm pretty sore at the moment" and that she was taking it "day by day".

In an otherwise record-breaking career, the American skier has endured a few heavy falls here and there. The most recent series of accidents occurred during the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Associated Press reports she only completed 2 out of 5 races due to some high-profile mishaps!

"She doesn't fall often, but it can happen," shared Kristofic. The margin of error for downhill skiing is extremely thin, and one slight miscalculation can send you over the hills.

Shiffrin dropped out of the FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup due to her accident, but she will be hoping to recover in time for some of this month's events, including Super G events in Crans Montana and Val di Fassa. The Cortina d'Ampezzo run finished with Ragnhild Mowinckel in 1st place on the Downhill series, and Lara Gut0Behrami as the winner of the Women's Super G.