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Boston Globe
3 days ago
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Mikaela Shiffrin says in essay she feels ‘like myself again' after recovering from ski racing crash, PTSD
Shiffrin was leading after the first run of the GS that day in Killington. With the finish line in sight on her final run, she lost an edge and slid into a gate, flipping over her skis. The all-time winningest Alpine World Cup ski racer then slammed into another gate before coming to a stop in the protective fencing. To this day, she doesn't know what led to the puncture wound, only that it was 'a millimeter from pretty catastrophic,' she told The Associated Press. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Shiffrin wrote in The Players' Tribune it was 'difficult to explain what the pain felt like. But the closest I can get would probably be, it was like … not only was there a knife stabbing me, but the knife was actually still inside of me.' Advertisement In late January, Shiffrin returned to the World Cup circuit. The giant slalom, though, remained a cause of anxiety and she skipped the event at world championships. Advertisement Ever so steadily, she's working on overcoming the mental trauma surrounding the GS as she gears up for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Games. She won an Olympic gold medal in the discipline at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games. She's been working with a psychologist to conquer her mental obstacles. 'I can admit that there were some extremely low moments,' recounted Shiffrin, who won her 'On particularly bad days, I'd question my motivation, or whether I still wanted to do this anymore. In my head, I'd be saying to myself: You know what, I kind of couldn't care less if I ever race again.' She and the therapist began looking at her recovery through the prism of PTSD. 'With me, I also think it's possible that the crash I had at the beginning of 2024 in Cortina, and then Killington happening … that those two crashes maybe built on one another,' Shiffrin said. 'I talked with my therapist about that, and she let me know that past trauma, or a history of traumatic events, can sometimes affect your reaction to new traumatic events.' She lost her dad, Jeff, five years ago in a home accident. Her fiancé and fellow ski racer Aleksander Aamodt Kilde of Norway is still recovering from a serious ski crash on Jan. 13, 2024. Advertisement 'Maybe when I crashed and got that puncture wound, maybe that was kind of a perfect-storm situation for PTSD to take hold,' Shiffrin wrote. Shiffrin said one thing that's helped is 'getting back to a place of joy.' She closed her essay with: 'All I can do is smile with appreciation. Because, finally … I feel like myself again.'
San Francisco Chronicle
3 days ago
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
Shiffrin says in essay she feels 'like myself again' after recovering from ski racing crash, PTSD
Two-time Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin finally feels 'like myself again' after recovering from a ski racing crash last season and lingering post-traumatic stress disorder. Shiffrin described in an essay for The Players' Tribune released Friday the physical and mental hurdles she needed to clear after her serious spill during a giant slalom race in Killington, Vermont, on Nov. 30. In the crash, something punctured Shiffrin's side and caused severe damage to her oblique muscles. 'Everyone knows what it feels like to have a bad cough. But PTSD … it's not like that,' the 30-year-old from Edwards, Colorado, wrote. 'It comes in all shapes and sizes. Everyone experiences it in their own way, and no two cases are exactly alike.' Shiffrin was leading after the first run of the GS that day in Killington. With the finish line in sight on her final run, she lost an edge and slid into a gate, flipping over her skis. The all-time winningest Alpine World Cup ski racer then slammed into another gate before coming to a stop in the protective fencing. To this day, she doesn't know what led to the puncture wound, only that it was "a millimeter from pretty catastrophic,' she told The Associated Press. Shiffrin wrote in The Players' Tribune it was 'difficult to explain what the pain felt like. But the closest I can get would probably be, it was like … not only was there a knife stabbing me, but the knife was actually still inside of me.' In late January, Shiffrin returned to the World Cup circuit. The giant slalom, though, remained a cause of anxiety and she skipped the event at world championships. Ever so steadily, she's working on overcoming the mental trauma surrounding the GS as she gears up for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Games. She won an Olympic gold medal in the discipline at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games. She's been working with a psychologist to conquer her mental obstacles. 'I can admit that there were some extremely low moments," recounted Shiffrin, who won her 100th career World Cup ski race in February. "Times when I started second-guessing myself, or was critical of myself because I felt like I was letting what happened mess with me so much. It was like: Come on, Mikaela, people have had way worse crashes than that, way worse injuries. Those people got through it. What is wrong with you? "On particularly bad days, I'd question my motivation, or whether I still wanted to do this anymore. In my head, I'd be saying to myself: You know what, I kind of couldn't care less if I ever race again.' She and the therapist began looking at her recovery through the prism of PTSD. 'With me, I also think it's possible that the crash I had at the beginning of 2024 in Cortina, and then Killington happening. … that those two crashes maybe built on one another,' Shiffrin said. 'I talked with my therapist about that, and she let me know that past trauma, or a history of traumatic events, can sometimes affect your reaction to new traumatic events.' She lost her dad, Jeff, five years ago in a home accident. Her fiancé and fellow ski racer Aleksander Aamodt Kilde of Norway is still recovering from a serious ski crash on Jan. 13, 2024. 'Maybe when I crashed and got that puncture wound, maybe that was kind of a perfect-storm situation for PTSD to take hold," Shiffrin wrote. Shiffrin said one thing that's helped is 'getting back to a place of joy.' She closed her essay with: "All I can do is smile with appreciation. Because, finally .... I feel like myself again.' ___
Winnipeg Free Press
3 days ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Shiffrin says in essay she feels ‘like myself again' after recovering from ski racing crash, PTSD
Two-time Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin finally feels 'like myself again' after recovering from a ski racing crash last season and lingering post-traumatic stress disorder. Shiffrin described in an essay for The Players' Tribune released Friday the physical and mental hurdles she needed to clear after her serious spill during a giant slalom race in Killington, Vermont, on Nov. 30. In the crash, something punctured Shiffrin's side and caused severe damage to her oblique muscles. 'Everyone knows what it feels like to have a bad cough. But PTSD … it's not like that,' the 30-year-old from Edwards, Colorado, wrote. 'It comes in all shapes and sizes. Everyone experiences it in their own way, and no two cases are exactly alike.' Shiffrin was leading after the first run of the GS that day in Killington. With the finish line in sight on her final run, she lost an edge and slid into a gate, flipping over her skis. The all-time winningest Alpine World Cup ski racer then slammed into another gate before coming to a stop in the protective fencing. To this day, she doesn't know what led to the puncture wound, only that it was 'a millimeter from pretty catastrophic,' she told The Associated Press. Shiffrin wrote in The Players' Tribune it was 'difficult to explain what the pain felt like. But the closest I can get would probably be, it was like … not only was there a knife stabbing me, but the knife was actually still inside of me.' In late January, Shiffrin returned to the World Cup circuit. The giant slalom, though, remained a cause of anxiety and she skipped the event at world championships. Ever so steadily, she's working on overcoming the mental trauma surrounding the GS as she gears up for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Games. She won an Olympic gold medal in the discipline at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games. She's been working with a psychologist to conquer her mental obstacles. 'I can admit that there were some extremely low moments,' recounted Shiffrin, who won her 100th career World Cup ski race in February. 'Times when I started second-guessing myself, or was critical of myself because I felt like I was letting what happened mess with me so much. It was like: Come on, Mikaela, people have had way worse crashes than that, way worse injuries. Those people got through it. What is wrong with you? 'On particularly bad days, I'd question my motivation, or whether I still wanted to do this anymore. In my head, I'd be saying to myself: You know what, I kind of couldn't care less if I ever race again.' She and the therapist began looking at her recovery through the prism of PTSD. 'With me, I also think it's possible that the crash I had at the beginning of 2024 in Cortina, and then Killington happening. … that those two crashes maybe built on one another,' Shiffrin said. 'I talked with my therapist about that, and she let me know that past trauma, or a history of traumatic events, can sometimes affect your reaction to new traumatic events.' She lost her dad, Jeff, five years ago in a home accident. Her fiancé and fellow ski racer Aleksander Aamodt Kilde of Norway is still recovering from a serious ski crash on Jan. 13, 2024. 'Maybe when I crashed and got that puncture wound, maybe that was kind of a perfect-storm situation for PTSD to take hold,' Shiffrin wrote. Shiffrin said one thing that's helped is 'getting back to a place of joy.' She closed her essay with: 'All I can do is smile with appreciation. Because, finally …. I feel like myself again.' ___ AP skiing:
Daily Mail
30-04-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Alisson reveals Pep Guardiola's touching gesture after death of his father, crying in training and how Jurgen Klopp helped him through tragedy
Alisson Becker has revealed that Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola sent him a message of condolence after the sudden death of his father in February 2021. Jose Becker tragically died after drowning in a lake near his family home. Alisson was unable to attend the funeral in his homeland due to travel restrictions in place to prevent the spread of coronavirus. In an emotional piece in The Players' Tribune, Alisson said that his father's passing 'destroyed' him and he revealed that he required the support of his Liverpool team-mates to get through it. 'When he died, it destroyed me. I could not even think about football. I had to keep remembering that I even played football, and that we were fighting for the Top 4,' he wrote. 'It was even more complicated, because it was right in the middle of the pandemic, and the logistics of getting home were a nightmare. 'My wife was pregnant with our third child, and Covid was exploding again in Brazil. Her doctor said that it was risky for her to travel, so she had to stay in Liverpool with our kids. That was total anguish for her, because she loved my father so much. 'We always joked that he loved her the most. If we ever had a little disagreement in front of my father, he would always say, 'I think Natalia is right. She was the daughter he never had. I was going to have to fly to Brazil alone. 'The following two or three days were a blur. The next thing I remember was all the flowers coming to our house. From Virgil, Andy, Fabinho, Firmino, Thiago…. on and on. All my brothers. Everyone sent us flowers with a note of condolences. 'And not just from my teammates, but even Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti sent me a condolence letter. It really touched my heart. Every 10 minutes, there was another knock at our door, with a delivery man holding flowers. 'I don't think those people can understand how much something small like that means when you're suffering. It was a reminder that even your biggest rivals recognise the human behind the name on the kit. 'I'll never forget, Jurgen called me, and I was feeling so guilty about missing training, because we were outside the Top 4, and we needed every point. But Jurgen told me to take as much time as I needed.' Following his dad's death, Alisson missed Liverpool's 2-0 win over Sheffield United before returning for their final 12 matches as they hunted down a Champions League spot. The stopper was integral to the Reds' successful attempt and even scored a dramatic winning goal in against West Bromwich Albion in May. It was an emotional moment for the Brazilian, who was embraced by his team-mates after his heroics. The stopper claimed that if it were not for his colleagues and the club, he would not 'have been able to deal with that time.' 'When I returned to training a few days after the funeral, I would think about my father at random times,' he added. 'I would have these flashes and I would start crying. Right there in training. Imagine trying to sort out the wall to stop Trent's free kick, and you have tears clouding your eyes! It's hard enough when you're not crying, man! 'But my teammates were unbelievable. They never once judged me. They acted like they were all a part of my family and they were in mourning, too. Being able to train again brought me a sense of calm. I always say that I did not 'choose' football. You cannot choose what is unconscious, what is already in your bones.'
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Alisson made 'most brutal phone call of life' after being 'destroyed' by father's death
Alisson has recalled how he took the difficult decision to not attend his father's funeral in person after his death in February 2021. Jose Becker was 57 years old when he drowned in a lake near his holiday home in southern Brazil. The tragic death occurred in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, which had huge implications on global travel. Had the Liverpool goalkeeper returned to his homeland for the funeral, he would have had to have quarantined in a hotel for a fortnight upon returning to England. Premier League-winning stopper Alisson, who revealed Pep Guardiola sent him a condolence letter after Jose's death, took the decision to attend the funeral virtually, watching via a video link, as he didn't want to leave wife Natalia, who was pregnant with the couple's third child on Merseyside and had been advized against traveling. READ MORE: What Liverpool legend said to Gary Neville as he tried to sneak out of Anfield READ MORE: Liverpool transfer news as Trent Alexander-Arnold U-turn 'possible' amid another Arsenal blow Despite the difficulty of the decision, Alisson said he knew that his father would have wanted him to stay with his wife and children given the circumstances. "When he died, it destroyed me," Alisson recalled on The Players' Tribune. "I could not even think about football. I had to keep remembering that I even played football, and that we were fighting for the top four. "It was even more complicated, because it was right in the middle of the pandemic, and the logistics of getting home were a nightmare. "My wife was pregnant with our third child, and Covid was exploding again in Brazil. Her doctor said that it was risky for her to travel, so she had to stay in Liverpool with our kids. "That was total anguish for her, because she loved my father so much. We always joked that he loved her the most. If we ever had a little disagreement in front of my father, he would always say, 'I think Natalia is right.' "It was an impossible situation, because at that time, in order to fly out of the country, you had to be quarantined in a hotel for 14 days when you returned. "The thought of coming back from my father's funeral and being trapped in a hotel room by myself for two weeks was hard. "But the worst part was imagining my wife on her own for that long. She was going to be in her third trimester, and anything could happen. "I called my mom and my brother, and I explained the situation, and that was the most brutal phone call of my life. "We cried a lot, but in the end, I decided that my father would want me to stay with my children and his 'favourite daughter' and protect them, no matter how hard it was. That was how he lived his life, and that was the best way to honour him."
