Shiffrin Nominated for 2021 Laureus World Sports Awards: Comeback of the Year Award

Two-time Olympic champion and six-time world champion Mikaela Shiffrin has been nominated for the 2021 Laureus World Sports Awards "Comeback of the Year" Award. 

The 2021 Laureus World Sports Awards will be a ‘virtual’ event, in place of the annual gala ceremony in order to respect continued social distancing measures.  However, the Awards—to be held in early May—will continue to celebrate the achievements of sportsmen and women and their impact on society.

The Laureus World Comeback of the Year Nominees personify the true spirit, determination, and tenacity of athletes who have overcome hurdles to return to action. Shiffrin came back from a break following her father’s death to start winning again, Japan’s Kento Momota, badminton’s world No.1, returned to competition after surviving a serious car crash, Canada’s Max Parrot recovered from cancer to win two X-Games snowboarding gold medals, Alex Smith came back to play for Washington in the NFL, 728 days and 17 operations after a leg injury, baseball’s Daniel Bard returned to top-level pitching after seven years because of ‘yips’, and US football star Alex Morgan made her debut for London club Tottenham just 184 days after giving birth.

Though the tragic death of her father paired with the global pandemic had her sidelined for 10 months from FIS Ski World Cup competition, it didn't take long for Shiffrin to return to the top and show her resilience and dominance once again on the World Cup circuit, with a giant slalom victory in Courchevel, France in December. She went into the 2021 World Championships in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy with an open mind and just a few days of super-G training under her belt, but blew everyone away when she nearly won the super-G, and grabbed a surprising bronze despite four days of training. From there, it was alpine combined gold, giant slalom silver (by a historically tight margin of .02), and slalom bronze. Four events and four medals. In doing so, Shiffrin rewrote the record books, once again. 

Shiffrin's World Championships Stats:

• Four world championships medals at Cortina 2021 (career-best world champs)
• First skier - male or female - to win four medals at the world championships in 14 years. 
• Tied with Sweden's Anja Paerson for the most World Championships medals by a woman in the modern era (11).
• Most Decorated American Alpine Skier in History (11 medals)
• Most World Championship Gold Medals for American Alpine Skier (6 gold)
• First American winner of the women’s combined since Tamara McKinney won it in 1989 at the worlds in Vail.

Not only did Shiffrin wow the world with her on-snow prowess, but she, her mother Eileen, and brother Taylor joined forces with U.S. Ski & Snowboard and six families of generous donors, who wanted to honor both Jeff’s legacy, as well as contribute to the ongoing pursuit of excellence for all athletes across all sports. The Jeff Shiffrin Athlete Resiliency Fund was created, and Shiffrin helped to raise over $3,075,000 to support all athletes and teams during these uncertain and unprecedented times. 

Shiffrin rallied a crew of alumni athletes and current athletes who embody the definition of “resiliency,” including Olympic champions Jonny Mosely, Kikkan Randall, Jessie Diggins as well as three-time World Champion Jeremy Bloom and three-time World Cup winner and Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team downhiller Steven Nyman, to share their unique stories of resilience. In addition, over 30 athletes across sports shared their stories of resilience in U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s social media challenge to #KeepTheFlameAlive. Donations flooded in from around the world, including 19 different countries, and 39 states—with Colorado and New York amassing the most donations. From Latvia to Great Britain and even Luxembourg, U.S. Ski & Snowboard fans from around the world donated and shared their words of encouragement with Shiffrin and her teammates. 

Voted for by the world’s sports media, the Laureus Awards will be announced in May as part of a ‘Virtual’ Awards event aimed at not only celebrating the highest sporting achievement but also honoring those whose actions have transcended the court, track, or field of play. 

For more information on the Nominees and to stay updated in the build-up to the 2021 Laureus World Sports Awards, visit laureus.com/world-sports-awards and follow #Laureus21 on social platforms. 

Release courtesy of Laureus.