Setbacks Won’t Hurt Mikaela Shiffrin’s Earnings

Two DNFs in two races may be shocking for the most decorated slalom skier in history, but Mikaela Shiffrin will be fine — in more ways than one.

On Wednesday, the American skidded out just five seconds into her slalom run and missed a gate, losing out on a second Olympic gold in the event. Two days earlier, Shiffrin slipped and missed a gate 11 seconds into the giant slalom in her Beijing debut.

But these setbacks are a blip on an already legendary downhill resume, and they won’t knock her status as arguably the most high-profile winter sports athlete — or her earning power.

• Shiffrin has won three Olympic medals: two golds (slalom, 2014; giant slalom, 2018) and a silver (women’s combined, 2018).
• The 26-year-old has won 73 World Cup races, including 47 WC slalom races — the most by any alpine skier, male or female.
• Her 11 World Championship medals (six golds) are the most by an American skier.

The USOC hands out $37,500 for each gold medal, but Shiffrin won’t be sweating it.  

She arrived in Beijing as one of the highest-paid athletes, having earned $3 million from sponsors in the year leading up to the Games, per Forbes. She has 14 long-term sponsorship deals, including those with Barilla, Adidas, VISA, and Grubhub, among others.

Shiffrin has three more opportunities to become the first American to win three Olympic golds in alpine skiing: Friday’s Super-G, followed by next week’s downhill and combined events.