Twenty years ago, as a 6-year-old Mikaela Shiffrin sat in her Colorado home watching the 2002 Winter Olympics, she saw Bode Miller fall onto his left hip while rounding a gate in an Alpine racecourse. Miller, a wild child who stumbled often, popped back up and finished second, winning the first of his six career Olympic medals.
Shiffrin was so inspired by Miller’s resilience that she stood in the living room and announced to her family that she wanted to be like her new idol and become a top Olympic ski racer. “The best in the world,” she said.