Ilona Humbles NFL Players & Talks Post-Olympic Blues with Mikaela Shiffrin

Summary

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House of Maher – “Super Bowl Adventures with Fernando Mendoza & Post-Olympic Blues with Mikaela Shiffrin”

Date: April 14, 2026
Host: Wave (Ilona Maher, with sisters Olivia and Adriana “Dre Baby” Maher)
Featured Guest: Mikaela Shiffrin (World Champion Alpine Skier)

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Episode Overview

This episode of House of Maher balances sharp humor and heartfelt insights as the Maher sisters welcome alpine ski legend Mikaela Shiffrin to discuss the reality behind Olympic glory, the quirks of post-career identity, relationships in and out of sport, and why trophies (and sometimes reindeer) occasionally break. Along the way, Ilona recounts her run-ins with NFL players at the Super Bowl, and the group takes on viral internet moments, equality in sports coverage, and the confidence gap between men and women. The conversation is peppered with relatable sibling banter, thoughtful discussions about mental health, and plenty of memorable quotes.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Group Catch-Up: Hong Kong Adventures, AI Misreporting, and Gender Bias in Sports ([02:02]–[07:52])

• Hong Kong Rugby Sevens Anticipation: The sisters discuss their upcoming group trip, excitement about more authentic food (dim sum/goose), and plans to see friends.

  • “I want more authentic food. Like, just a local dim sum place.” – Olivia [03:21]

• AI Misreporting & Gender Gaps: Conversation turns to friend Ali Riley’s criticism of AI for incorrectly crediting men over women in sports statistics.

  • “When you look up who has scored the most international goals, some AI reports Cristiano Ronaldo when the correct answer is Christine Sinclair.” – Adriana [03:55]
  • “AI is pulling from what is most reported on… it just immediately has a learned prejudice.” – Adriana [04:06]

• Viral Cluelessness About Women’s Achievements: Multiple anecdotes on men (and even AI) assuming male athletes’ supremacy, i.e., tennis clips where men are miscredited over Serena Williams.

Notable Quotes

• “Do you think you can score a point on Serena [Williams]? You work a desk job.” – Olivia [05:24]
• “Spooky.” – Ilona and Adriana [05:29, 05:31]

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2. Humbling the Super Bowl: NFL Encounters & Keeping It Real ([08:38]–[13:34])

• Super Bowl Shenanigans: Ilona attends a Giants party, realizes she can’t recognize the team’s quarterback (“Jackson Dart”), and her friend Casey brilliantly responds to a football player trying to grab her ball:

  • “She goes, ‘You know ball?’ and he just looked at her, like, and walked away.” – Ilona [09:34]

• Celebrating Positive Male Athlete Interactions: Standout meeting with Fernando Mendoza, who was friendly and genuine.

  • “So lovely. So excited to meet me… He was a great guy.” – Ilona [11:07]

• Audience Q: Female Athlete Litmus Test:

  • “Who’s your favorite female athlete?” The group laughs about typical answers (“Serena Williams, Simone Biles”) and brainstorm using it as a Bechdel-test-style dating question. [07:56–08:04]

Memorable Moments

• “If I ever get asked (favorite male athlete) I’m gonna say like, Peyton Manning. That guy really did something back then.” – Ilona [07:26]
• “If you were to do that to me with the rugby ball, I’d be like, ‘That’s so good, because obviously I know ball.’” – Ilona [10:25]

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3. Featuring Mikaela Shiffrin: Life After Olympic Triumph ([14:23]–[16:47])

• Back From Europe: Mikaela explains her travel whirlwind—months abroad and wrangling dozens of bags.

  • “At one point this season, I had 15 bags, like when we got to the Olympics.” – Mikaela [15:03]

• Trophy Mishap: Mikaela drops and breaks the overall World Cup globe trophy in a taxi, riffing on how heavy and fragile they are.

  • “It fell out of the car. It’s really heavy, so the stem broke… Not the first time I’ve broken one.” – Mikaela [16:00, 17:13]

Notable Quotes

• “For people watching who might not know, can you explain what exactly that is that broke in your taxi?” – Adriana [16:42]
• “That’s like the Super Bowl of skiing... the most coveted thing in alpine ski racing.” – Mikaela [16:47]

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4. Owning Nine Reindeer & Trophies as Home Decor ([18:01]–[22:28])

• Nine Reindeer?! Mikaela elaborates on winning a reindeer at the Finland race each year—now owning nine.

  • “It’s a prize for winning the race… the reindeer are a gift.” – Mikaela [19:15, 19:30]
  • “Rudolph, Sven, Ingemar, Mr. Gru, the Lorax, Sunny Grogu… Winky…” – Mikaela [18:16–19:07]

• What to Do with Trophies: Many trophies are given to coaches and young fans, with crystal ones as decor.

  • “A lot of awards I give to my coaches or sometimes a really young fan… If you see whoever it is, it’s like, ‘Here, do you want this trophy?’ And they go crazy.” – Mikaela [20:59, 21:37]

Memorable Moment

• “The good thing about a reindeer prize is it can’t roll out of a New York City taxi and break.” – Adriana [20:01]

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5. Behind the Scenes: Ski Gear, “Need For Speed,” and Mind of a Champion ([22:28]–[26:57])

• Skis Logistics: Explains why World Cup teams travel with 20-30 bags for different conditions and ski builds.

• Do You Like To Go Fast?: Mikaela describes her need for speed—in moderation, always grounded in feeling secure and practiced.

  • “If I’ve practiced it… then it’s enjoyable to ski fast. But… I’m probably going faster than I should driving from Denver to my house.” – Mikaela [25:39]

• Mentality of Risk Sports: Comparing the wildness of winter Olympians and rugby players, acknowledging both require a “screw loose” level of daring.

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6. The Emotional Cost of Olympic Success & Changing Identity ([27:06]–[31:42])

• Post-Olympic Blues: Mikaela intimately describes the alien experience of multiple Olympics; the expectations, the post-Games void, and still not quite being able to process what happened.

  • “Now that I’m on this side of it, I can’t even really remember what happened… it almost feels like it didn’t happen.” – Mikaela [28:26]

• From Naiveté to Owning Her Power: Starting at 18, growing into her identity as both an athlete and woman—now, at 31, appreciating strength and individualism:

  • “It’s been so cool to see so many women… being put up on a pedestal to be strong and powerful… to have all these individual pieces of your life and personality be important and celebrated.” – Mikaela [29:26]

• Going Viral for “Back Abs”: How a simple physical therapy moment went viral for her unique muscle definition—“another unattainable beauty standard” joked Ilona.

Key Quote

• “That was the first time that I saw sort of the dark side… what people do expect.” – Mikaela [27:06]
• “I have a sports psych I really like. Austrian guy. Knows a lot. He just is quiet, then he says something. You’re like, ‘Shit, Peter, that was good.’” – Ilona [38:01]

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7. Mental Health, Grief, and Sports Psychologists ([35:17]–[43:07])

• Sports Psychology Journey: Both Mikaela and Ilona talk about seeking help post-Olympics—for Ilona, this eased her transition after Tokyo.

  • “I had very bad post-Olympic blues… leading up to Paris I was with my sports psych constantly.” – Ilona [37:21]

• Grief and Therapy: Mikaela shares her deep work with a clinical psychologist, especially after losing her father and the pressures of expectation and isolation.

  • “I started talking with this clinical psychologist four years ago… mainly because I hadn’t even started to talk to anybody about my grief from my dad passing.” – Mikaela [36:05]
  • “Now it’s been four years and I’m like, you must be with me forever.” – Mikaela [37:09]

• Comparing Individual vs. Team Sport Pressures: Ilona reflects on the pressure of people coming just to watch her—and thus needing “to give them a good show”—and the support systems/burden of team sports visibility. [41:53–42:48]

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8. Relationships, Romance, and “Ghosting” ([43:23]–[48:21])

• How Mikaela Met Her Fiance: A love story stretching ten years, thwarted by miscommunication and “ghosting,” finally blossoming during COVID after a heartfelt message.

  • “He was actually designing the ring [while in the hospital]… I wanted it to match your other rings. You like thick rings.” – Mikaela [47:29, 48:03]

• Advice for Dating: The panel riffs on mixed signals in dating, giving guys “more grace,” and the modern world of athlete relationships.

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9. Body Image, Sports Illustrated, and Being Seen ([49:09]–[50:44])

• Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue: Ilona describes why she found posing empowering:
  • “I feel like it’s my duty to show this body in all lights, in a swimsuit, for the girls.” – Ilona [49:45]
  • Mikaela hopes to do SI someday, inspired by athletes like Ilona. [49:26–49:32]

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10. “Try Hard” Lightning Round: Favorites and Mantras ([50:33]–[54:13])

Quick Hits:

• Go-to Cocktail: “Gin and tonic. With Monkey 47, specifically.” – Mikaela [51:11]
• Favorite Vermont Ski Mountain: “Maybe I’m partial to Killington… I claim everywhere. Now I claim Norway, too.” – Mikaela [51:22–52:00]
• Special Home Item: “My bed. If I do not sleep on a good mattress, I’m done for.” – Mikaela [52:02–53:03]

Philosophy to Live By:

• “Be nice, think first, have fun. Try to think about what you’re doing, be thoughtful, be kind to people, and have fun with what you’re doing.” – Mikaela [53:47]
• “Learn to be passionate about the process of improvement.” – Mikaela [54:10]

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Most Memorable Moments & Quotes

• The “You know ball?” at the Super Bowl: [09:34]
• Ilona humbling the Giants’ quarterback: [09:17]
• Mikaela’s trophy catastrophe story: [16:00]
• Naming the reindeer (including “Winky,” her mother’s nickname): [18:16–19:07]
• Giving trophies to fans and coaches: [21:37]
• Viral “back abs” incident: [31:14]
• “Be nice, think first, have fun.” – Mikaela’s family mantra [53:47]

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Key Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Topic | |-----------|-----------------------------------------------------------------| | 02:02 | Kicking off with group chat, Hong Kong trip | | 03:55 | AI/Media misreporting and women’s sports coverage | | 08:38 | Ilona’s Super Bowl party NFL story | | 14:23 | Mikaela Shiffrin introduction, world record recap | | 15:01 | Mikaela’s “15 bags” travel story and trophy mishap | | 18:01 | Reindeer explanation & naming | | 22:41 | Ski logistics: why so many bags/skis | | 27:06 | Mikaela on the Olympic “vortex” and post-Olympic emotions | | 35:17 | Mental health, sports psychology, and coping with expectation | | 43:38 | How Mikaela met her fiancé | | 49:09 | Posing for Sports Illustrated and body positivity | | 50:33 | “Try Hard” lightning round | | 53:47 | Personal mantra and final thoughts |

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Tone & Style Overview

The episode maintains Maher’s signature blend of irreverent wit, real-life vulnerability, and a “sisters at the dinner table” vibe, even when tackling the high stakes of pro sport and mental health. Whether discussing elite-level pressure or calling out AI’s gendered blind spots, the language is playful, rapid-fire, and inviting, making world-class athletes accessible and relatable.

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For listeners who missed it, this episode stands out for its mix of sports-world tea, unfiltered truths about mental health and womanhood, and genuinely hilarious storytelling—from reindeer to glass-shattering trophies to the mysteries of “back abs.”

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Transcript

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[Michaela Shiffrin]

she brought this over. She wants me to tell you the story about how the fact that I just broke.

[Adriana]

It's broken.

[Ilona]

You didn't. Mikayla, you did not.

[Adriana]

Did she just crawl that over to you? I'm crying.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Yes, it tipped out of the car.

[Adriana]

Did you put it on the roof like a cup of coffee? What? What are we talking about fell?

[Ilona]

No, no.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

It's really heavy, so the stem broke.

[Ilona]

Oh.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

It can be a little bit challenging to get them replaced as you're good to go.

[Adriana]

Good thing you have more than one.

[Ilona]

Welcome or welcome back to House of Mar? A. Wave off the chairlift and help yourself to whatever is in the fridge. The WI fi password is boots. Boots. All caps.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Boots, Boots.

[Ilona]

You should know that we have a few Oz rules here.

[Adriana]

Girls are magic.

[Ilona]

Reading is hot and so are you. Check us out on YouTube. Watch us subscribe, do all the things. Because today we are chatting with the number one alpine skier in the world. Also just a beautiful, gorgeous, gorgeous woman. Beautiful Michaela Shiffrin. But first, let's get into the group chat. Let's chat about what's happening with us. What's girl newsing with us?

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Us Girl news.

[Adriana]

Girl newsing. We are about to head to Hong Kong to watch some Rugby, Hong Kong. I'm so excited.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

I'm so excited.

[Adriana]

This will be Adrian and I's second year back there. And you will be attending with us this year, Ilona.

[Ilona]

I will.

[Olivia]

Ilona.

[Ilona]

Yes.

[Olivia]

How many times have you been.

[Ilona]

This will be my second time.

[Adriana]

Second time. So just like us. You're not special.

[Olivia]

No, I know.

[Ilona]

So keep me humble.

[Adriana]

Thanks, guys. Keeping you humble. What can we say?

[Olivia]

Can't keep me away.

[Adriana]

Actually, what are we excited to see? I'm obviously excited to watch the USA Girlies.

[Olivia]

Excited to watch the USA Girls. I'm excited to have, like a wider variety of food. Last time, obnoxious. We went to a lot of, like higher end places. Like, we were like brought around.

[Adriana]

Obnoxious of you. Not of what we were brought to.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

To be like.

[Olivia]

I only had luxury food last time.

[Adriana]

Yeah.

[Olivia]

Like, I want more authentic food. Like, I would love to go to, like, just a local dim sum place. They love things like that.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

They do.

[Adriana]

Or is it duck?

[Ilona]

Is it goose?

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Goose, actually. Goose.

[Ilona]

Maybe I'm wrong.

[Adriana]

When we were there though, I think.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Yeah.

[Ilona]

You had Peking duck, huh?

[Adriana]

Yeah. Delicious. Banging.

[Ilona]

I have a friend that lives there, Charlie Jacoby. So I get to go see her. It's a really cool place.

[Olivia]

Well, I'm excited to travel with you.

[Adriana]

Yeah.

[Olivia]

To a place like this.

[Ilona]

I have to see the schedule. I haven't seen any schedule.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Right.

[Ilona]

What's happening? What are we doing? Where am I going?

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Surprise. It's for a surprise.

[Adriana]

And get mad at us about. Okay. In other girl news, our friend Ali Riley recently called out that AI is incorrectly reporting history. Specifically, it is incorrectly reporting women's, like, statistics and achievements. So when you look up who has scored the most international goals, some AI reports Cristiano Ronaldo when the correct answer is Christine Sinclair. And I've heard this too before, that because AI, AI is pulling from what is most reported on. So it's obviously like most people are talking about that Cristiano has the X men X amount of goals that he is the most, you know, the highest scoring men's player that's talked about. Apparently more so AI pulls from that, totally disregarding women. So it just like immediately has a learned prejudice because of what we as a society talk about, comment on.

[Ilona]

Yeah, checks out that they would be

[Olivia]

inaccurate for this, you know, because oftentimes people aren't even considering women's achievements. I think of the. I think there's like a viral tennis clip where they're interviewing like a. This male tennis player and be like, how does it feel to have been like, to have won the most matches. And even the player was like, that's not true.

[Adriana]

That's not me.

[Olivia]

I think it was Serena Williams.

[Adriana]

Yeah.

[Olivia]

You know, it's just like it always happens, you know, and so it's just not surprising that is doing it. I think it shows an importance of use AI, like with a grain of salt, you know, like, always do your own research.

[Adriana]

Yeah, absolutely.

[Ilona]

Have you seen that one study where it's like, most men think they get a point on Serena Williams?

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Yeah.

[Olivia]

And I'm actually surprised because I'm like, what are you talking about?

[Ilona]

Yeah.

[Olivia]

I'm like, you work a desk job.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

You're 30 years old.

[Olivia]

Do you think you can score a point on Serena?

[Ilona]

Yeah.

[Adriana]

Right. Spooky.

[Ilona]

Spooky.

[Adriana]

What gives them this sense of.

[Olivia]

And how do I get it almost, you know, how do I get some of that? Just a hint. Like, I don't ever want to be that delusional. Right. But just a hint of just the confidence.

[Ilona]

Yeah, I hear you.

[Olivia]

I crave it.

[Adriana]

What's something you don't think someone could get a point on you in alone? Obviously it's like rugby.

[Olivia]

Unless you're Porsche Woodman or.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Unless it's.

[Adriana]

What?

[Michaela Shiffrin]

What'd you say?

[Ilona]

What'd you say? You should say it.

[Olivia]

Unless you're Portia Woodman.

[Adriana]

It's true. Oh, period. Was it seven?

[Ilona]

Seven points?

[Adriana]

That was. Ana was actually covering me.

[Ilona]

I was the only one kind of trying to stop me.

[Adriana]

It wasn't on Alona, though.

[Ilona]

At every point I was there, but

[Adriana]

she was there helping out.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Wait, cuz you were 12?

[Olivia]

She was 13 or something.

[Ilona]

I was 13. She's a wing.

[Olivia]

Yeah.

[Ilona]

So she's just slicing through, man. I tried. That's really a good one, actually. Very true.

[Olivia]

There's a question I've been meaning to ask you, actually.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Oh.

[Olivia]

Who's your favorite male athlete?

[Ilona]

Oh, my God. Thank you for asking. I would have to say Jackie Robinson, Babe Ruth, Doug Flutie.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Maybe

[Adriana]

George Foreman.

[Ilona]

George Foreman. Love his grills.

[Adriana]

Big fan of his grills.

[Ilona]

I just think it's so funny when they do those clips where they're like, who's your favorite athlete? To these players? And a lot of them say Serena Williams. Men. Where you ask men and they say, you know, who's your favorite female athlete? And they go, serena Williams. Serena Williams.

[Adriana]

My mom, my sister Williams.

[Ilona]

I think Serena Williams was a. I mean, the best athlete in the day. I think it'd be cool now to say some more because there's so many other Cool athletes who are up there. But I just think it's so funny that that's like the one they go for.

[Olivia]

For a dollar. Name a woman for a dollar.

[Adriana]

Oh, Michelle Obama.

[Ilona]

Serena Williams. So that's why my joke is like, if I'm ever get asked that, I'm gonna ask and say some guy who's just not even. I'm gonna say like, Peyton Manning. That guy really did something back then. Because I just think there's so many more we could be saying. Like, I'm gonna say, you know what? My dad, when he started playing RUGBY in like 19, the 1980s, I think is probably, you know, like, that's just.

[Olivia]

Female athletes do not start and stop at Serena Williams.

[Ilona]

Yeah, that could be a good thing to ask a male.

[Adriana]

Ooh, On a date.

[Ilona]

Who's your favorite female athlete?

[Adriana]

A good what'? Like a Bechdel test or a litmus test? A good litmus test for asking my favorite.

[Olivia]

And there's a wrong answer.

[Adriana]

The wrong answer is Serena.

[Ilona]

That can be one of them. But I would be like, I'd say, who's your favorite athlete? And then if they say Serena, be like, okay, somebody else besides Serena. And if. Then they're like, Simone Biles. I don't know what you say.

[Olivia]

Simone Biles.

[Adriana]

And another one I've actually ever heard

[Ilona]

Simone Biles as often.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Which.

[Ilona]

That should be up there.

[Adriana]

I hear that one a lot.

[Olivia]

I think, okay, I'll even take Venus Williams.

[Adriana]

Yeah, yeah, right. Honestly, could I name a male athlete right now?

[Ilona]

Yes, you could.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

No.

[Olivia]

Yes, you could. I don't know.

[Ilona]

Name one.

[Adriana]

I only support women.

[Ilona]

When I was at the Super Bowl, I went to this party and there's a lot of like, football, football players from. I think the Giants were there. And there's this one guy, he's like blonde, he's attractive guy, young looking. And I'm like, hey, what's up, man? He's like, hey. I'm like, so you play football? He's like, and it's a Giant. It's at a Giants party. I was like, you play football? He's like, yeah. I was like, that's awesome, man. What team you play for? Mind you, it's a Giants scatter booth party. He's like, what team you play for? He's like, the Giants. I was like, sweet, man. Sweet.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

That's awesome.

[Ilona]

That's really cool, man. What position are you? He's like, really cool.

[Adriana]

What they're letting blonde men do these days.

[Olivia]

I know.

[Ilona]

I was like, what position are you? He's like, I'm the quarterback. I'm like, oh, it was Jackson dart. No idea. But he knew who I was. Good on you, though.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Keep him.

[Ilona]

No, we're keeping humble. And then Casey did it as well. She had a football in hand. She was holding a football.

[Adriana]

Casey, her friend.

[Ilona]

Casey, my friend. And this guy, one of the football players, goes to, like, take it from her, you know, like, goes like this to. To get the ball. And she's just funny. She's funny person. She goes, you know ball? And he just. Winston said this. Do you know ball? And he looked at her, like, and walked away. And I was like, casey, that's hilarious.

[Adriana]

You guys are doing more for women's equality.

[Ilona]

That was so funny. She told me that story. I'm like, that's the best story I've heard all weekend. We were really humped. This is a party for the Giants, and we're humbling these guys left and right. Like, okay, very cool.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Very cool.

[Ilona]

Oh, we're like, you're on. You just no idea what you're up to.

[Adriana]

You know, ball is the craziest.

[Ilona]

I thought she literally, to the guy who, like, everybody is. He's a big player. And I was like, casey, that's that first off, that's hilarious.

[Olivia]

Yeah.

[Ilona]

If you were to do that to me with the rugby ball, I'd be like, that's so good, because obviously I know ball, and even you didn't it hilarious.

[Adriana]

And also, like, if that guy actually had a sense of humor, like, he would have probably laughed. Right? Like, that's funny. Or do men not like that?

[Ilona]

I don't know. I think it was just the environment we were in. This was their space.

[Adriana]

This was the TV just terrorizing party.

[Ilona]

And we had, like, no idea what was going on.

[Adriana]

Just there for vibes.

[Ilona]

Oh, really cool, man. I did get to meet Fernando Mendoza. Oh, a lovely guy. Really. I guess I'd say my favorite athlete is Fernando Mendoza in that sort of area. So lovely. So excited to meet me, because sometimes male athletes will meet me, and they know me, but try to keep an air of, like, kind of cool and chill. I'm an athlete, too.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Cool.

[Ilona]

That's awesome. But he was like, oh, really cool to meet you. I love what you're doing. And, you know, was talking to me, so it was really nice to meet him. And I've had other great interactions with, you know, male athletes, but that was just. He was a great guy.

[Olivia]

I love that he gives me hope for the future.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Yeah.

[Olivia]

You know, like, they're still being raised Right, right, right.

[Ilona]

And his beautiful mom and his aunt. Beautiful.

[Adriana]

The female entourage. Love.

[Ilona]

Yeah. Well, no, I didn't get to meet them, but I love how beautiful they are.

[Adriana]

I see that.

[Ilona]

And you just know that those sisters are taking care of each other and

[Adriana]

telling each other, keeping him.

[Ilona]

This is how good you're gonna look. Oh, wow. Yeah. So if anybody needs.

[Adriana]

If anyone needs some alone to come humble somebody, you let her know.

[Ilona]

Party. I won't. I don't. Couldn't tell you.

[Adriana]

Couldn't freaking tell you. My favorite Casey story. I just saw her in Austin. She said she was like, we can't. She's like, I'd recommend the margaritas at this place, but they only allow you to have two. They're so strong. I was like, okay. She was like, last time I had them, I was supposed to go to my then girlfriend's like, slow pitch softball game in the afternoon. I blacked out during the second one. Came to coaching the third base without my shoes on. I was sending people home.

[Ilona]

I just thought Casey would do. Hilarious. Oh my God, hilarious.

[Adriana]

What a gem. What a gem.

[Olivia]

How do I pick up coach in softball? Yeah, right.

[Ilona]

Y' all know ball also it's funnier

[Michaela Shiffrin]

that you are like Olympic athletes.

[Adriana]

Olympic rugby players, you know, everyone.

[Olivia]

Obviously they don't know that, but like,

[Ilona]

still, these guys knew who I was. I think I would have known who it was if I just thought about it like more. I just was like, I just remember him, the quarterback. I was like, he probably had a couple drinks. He's like known cuz he's very. He's attractive. He's quaff with his blonde hair. I was like, oh, yeah, I have seen you before. Sorry about that, Jackson.

[Adriana]

Sorry.

[Ilona]

Yikes. Love your work.

[Olivia]

We're Giants fans.

[Adriana]

My dad's a Giants fan, but a Giants fan. So we brought him to an NFL game out here and they gave him free beer. And he was like, the Giants have never given me free beer. I love the Rams.

[Olivia]

Giants are given a lot of heartbreak.

[Ilona]

We had a glory days back in the favorite male athlete, Eli Manning, back in the day, because my dad would be happy when they won.

[Olivia]

Thank you, Eli.

[Ilona]

Thank you, Eli.

[Adriana]

Thanks, Eli.

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[Ross]

Spring just slid into your DMs. Grab that boho. Look for that rooftop dinner, those sandals that can keep up with you. And hang some string lights to give your patio a glow up. Spring's calling. Ross, Work your magic.

[Olivia]

Is that the doorbell? I think our guest is here.

[Ilona]

Our fourth march today is quite literally the greatest of all time. With 110 World cup victories, she has more wins than any alpine skier, male or female, in history. She's a three time Olympic gold medalist, the only skier to ever win in all seven disciplines. And she just casually tied the record for the most World cup overall titles ever. Welcome to the family. The queen of the mountain, Michaela Shiffrin. Thanks.

[Olivia]

Welcome.

[Adriana]

Thank you. How you doing?

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Oh, we're doing great, but just. Yeah, just. Just living life. Just got back to the US From Europe after seven, like seven months on the road. So I'm happy to be back stateside.

[Adriana]

Back stateside. But have you been home yet?

[Michaela Shiffrin]

I was comfort. I have a. I have a home. I do have a home in Colorado. And I was there for about 24 hours. Dropped off my bags. At one point this season, I had 15 bags, like when we got to the Olympics. And we got all the. All the bags and the gear.

[Ilona]

Yeah.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

And sent some home after Cortina. But yeah, I traveled home with 12 bags this time around after. After our season finished. Just like literally just the last four days. So is in here. And she's just like creepily crawling around the floor so you can't see her, but I think you might be able to see her any. So that's just fun. She. She brought me. She brought this over. She wants me to tell you the story about how the fact that I just broke.

[Adriana]

It's broken.

[Ilona]

You didn't. Mikayla, you did not.

[Adriana]

Did she just crawl that over to you? I'm crying. Wait, what happened? Tell us.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

It fell. It fell. It tipped out of the car. We're on our way to watch what happens live. It fell. You put in the taxi.

[Adriana]

Did you put it on the roof like a cup of coffee? What are we talking about?

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Okay, we try. It's like traveling in this big bag, this like bowling ball, like a bowling trough duffel thing. I don't know. And we had it packed in with the Saran Wrap and everything. Not Saran Wrap. What am I saying? I can't speak either. But you know, like bubble wrap. Bubble.

[Adriana]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

With bubble wrap. Yeah. And it fell out, and it. It, like, it's really heavy. So the stem. Oh, my God.

[Adriana]

And for people watching who might not know, can you explain what exactly that is that broke in your taxi?

[Michaela Shiffrin]

This ball is. This is the overall globe, and that is the. That's like the super bowl of skiing. This is the most. Probably the most coveted, like, thing that you can win in alpine ski racing, but this is a trophy. Well, this and obviously that. Right, right. And broke. It's not the first time that I've broken one.

[Olivia]

Right.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

But it does. It does. It can be a little bit challenging to get them replaced. So, anyway, we've got this.

[Adriana]

You're good to go. Good thing you have more than one.

[Olivia]

Honestly. Pour drink into that. Get a long straw. Yeah, you're good to go.

[Ilona]

A couple glass shards.

[Adriana]

Nothing like it.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Shards of glass? Yeah, no, totally.

[Adriana]

Better yet, give it to the city of New York. Let it be their next ball. Dr. You're good to go.

[Ilona]

Oh, my God.

[Olivia]

It's basically just, like, shattering.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Have you guys seen the videos of, like, the ASMR videos of, like, smashing glass and stuff like that?

[Adriana]

Where they fill it with different colored liquids?

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Yeah, this would be a real yes.

[Olivia]

Or where people, like, send glass bottles downstairs? Yeah, you send the globe down the stairs. See how many stairs it goes until it breaks.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Until it just.

[Ilona]

Mikayla, is it true you have reindeer, too?

[Michaela Shiffrin]

I do have reindeer. I have nine reindeer.

[Adriana]

We heard nine.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

They live in Finland.

[Olivia]

Can you name them all, or is it just. They just kind of exist over there?

[Michaela Shiffrin]

They. Okay. It's Rudolph.

[Olivia]

Strong start.

[Ilona]

Wow, that is. That's a unique. How'd you get.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Rudolph was number one at the time. I was like, 17 or 18, and I was like, I'm. I'm, like, making kids dreams come true. Like, Rudolph the Reindeer is real, right? Not that any.

[Adriana]

I mean, now kind of benevolent reindeer owner.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Yep, absolutely. Rudolph, we have Sven, we have ingamar, we have Mr. Gru, we have the Lorax, Sunny Grogu. Okay, there's two more, but I can't. Winky. Winky was this year.

[Olivia]

Okay.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

That's nickname for my mom. Her childhood nickname. And then there's. There's. There's one more.

[Ilona]

Tell the people all you have these reindeers.

[Adriana]

Yeah.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Oh, yeah. Sorry. I. I guess I probably should have just gone right when you asked about the reindeer. It's, like, obvious. That's the question. So the reindeer are gift. You're like, oh, yeah, I have reindeer. Obviously. Like, period, duh.

[Adriana]

Duh. She's here.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

No. Yeah. No, the. This is a prize. This is basically the trophy for winning the race. The first solemn race of the season in Finland every year. And it's one of these, like, iconic classic races that we do every year since well before my career. And the. The prize is you win a reindeer. Yeah. So that's been a bunch of times that I've been back to Levy. At the very minimum, nine. Very nine times. Oh, my gosh.

[Adriana]

Well, the good thing about a reindeer prize is it can't roll out of a New York City taxi and break. But do they live all together in one pen? They're like, these are Mikayla's reindeer.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

They live on a farm. They all come from the same farm, and they're with a bunch of other reindeer. There's like hundreds or maybe even thousands on this farm alone. And they, like, they'll like, venture out during the summert. Just venture out into the wild of Finland and then, like, return back in the winter, basically. And they just live there. And I. I've seen them.

[Olivia]

I have.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

I mean, I've visited them, but I don't.

[Adriana]

I don't, like.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

I'm not like, caring for their pelts.

[Adriana]

Yeah, yeah, right. You're not combing them.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

I'm not. I'm not overbearing. You know, I like to let my children run free with the rest of

[Olivia]

your awards that are not living. Do you display them all in one room? Like, where do you have them around your house?

[Michaela Shiffrin]

They're kind of just scattered everywhere. And honestly, a lot of awards I will give to my coaches or my ski technicians or different people on the team or sometimes there's been a couple times where you have a really young fan that for whatever reason, you'll meet cross paths in the hotel lobby or something. And that can actually be. That's been a pretty fun connection over the years. Like, if you see whoever it is, it's just like, oh, we just met. And this kid is like, oh, my gosh, we just watched you race. And it's like, here, do you want this trophy? And they just go crazy, girl.

[Adriana]

What? That's amazing.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

For, like, for these guys, not specifically the broken one, but for the ones that are not like, crystal is a big

[Ilona]

medium.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

I don't know, like a. That's. Yeah, that's a material that's used a lot for trophies. And those are be. They're just always beautiful. So I do like to display those because they're just. They're like, stunning as a home decor item. As well.

[Olivia]

Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

So they're just scattered. Yeah. Catches the light. Absolutely. And you can do a lot of thought. You know, you can just. I don't know, it just, like, dresses up the house. I like to display the ones that I feel if I was at a. Like, a home goods store, if I saw something, I'd be like, oh, I really like that. It's pretty. I want to buy it. Like, some trophies are sort of that vibe, and those are the ones I like to display.

[Adriana]

I like the idea of giving it to a young fan, because then that is one less thing you have to travel with with all your bags. We heard you fly. You bring, like, 40 skis with you for a competition. Is that true?

[Michaela Shiffrin]

It. That is true. But thankfully, I'm not traveling with all of the skis myself. That's my. So my ski technicians from Atomic, which is the ski company, they will carry all the gear. All the ski gear. And. Yeah, we do. We do often, like, travel and fly kind of together, but they live in Austria, the Atomic factories in Austria. So I'm not really tasked with traveling. It's like, it ends up being probably two ski bags per. Two skis per ski bag. So it's anywhere from 20 to 30 ski bags that we're traveling with any place. It's just those baggage charges are pretty big.

[Adriana]

Yeah. And for people that don't know the sport, is it because you need a different ski for each type of condition or, like, why having. So why. Why such a variety?

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Couple reasons. Throughout the season, every single time we ski, the. Our ski technicians and our being like, all the athletes, this will be the same for everybody. Our ski technicians will tune the skis, and they take a file to the edges, and they shave off the side of the edges, and so the edges get thinner over the course of a year. So first of all, you can, like, run through a ski if you ski on it enough. So that's number one. So you'll have multiple pairs of basically the same exact. Like a replica of the same ski with the different material construction inside and the side cut. And there's all these regulations around what the turn radius of the ski can be and all of these different, like, technical details. And then within those regulations, you can play around with, like, if you guys can imagine, you know, bending a ski, what does the. Does the ski bend more in the tip of the ski or the tail of the ski, or is it directly underfoot? And so they can, like, change where the radius of the ski comes into play and how that impacts the ski turn. Or maybe they'll use like an extra layer of some material within the construction of the ski or a different kind of glue or a different kind of wood. So all of those things they can play with in order to change the character of a ski, which ideally makes it faster on certain conditions. So it's this whole like tinkering process of what, what's faster and what's more powerful. And we're doing the ski testing all the time, so that's why we have so many. They're. There are different varieties of construction and materials and all these things.

[Ilona]

Do you have like a need for speed? Like do you when you get in a car, do you have to go fast?

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Oh, I do drive pretty fast actually. But I mean, I don't. But no, I actually don't. I'm not really like a fast pace. I don't really like to go that fast unless I feel very secure with it, to be honest. If I feel.

[Olivia]

Unless she's flying down a mountain, yeah.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Well, if I've practiced it, like if I was to just jump into a downhill course this afternoon, I would be so slow. But if I got some practice at it and build up then, then it's very enjoyable to ski fast or be going high speed. But like there are some sections driving from Denver to my house that I am probably going faster than I should.

[Adriana]

Interesting. A bit of a need for speed alone with the hard hitting journal.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

I love that.

[Ilona]

I just wonder. I always am. So by these winter Olympians and the sports you guys do. I know we were talking to a snowboarder, but I know my sport is crazy as well, but I just feel like you guys are also another level of. I'm not sure what it is if it's cuckoo, if it's just living life

[Michaela Shiffrin]

on little Rich, a little bit of a screw loose in a lot of cases. But I mean, I would say that rugby, as far as like summer sports go, it's probably the most out of us.

[Adriana]

Yeah.

[Ilona]

Yes, 100%. Yes.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

It's highly demanding.

[Olivia]

Yeah, I mean you can pull down.

[Ilona]

I don't know.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

All sports are demanding, but there's a little bit of a level of you need to. Yeah, we need to replace some hardware in the brain sometimes.

[Adriana]

Right. Well, you're literally just coming off of your six World cup and Milan Cortina. How are you feeling?

[Michaela Shiffrin]

The Olympics were. I don't even. It's like an indescribable journey. And I know that you've like, you have this experience with it. Alana but it's, like, hard to explain after four Olympics now how different every single one has been and, like, great experiences. My first one, I was so naive. I didn't really even know what to expect. And I only. I only got a sense of the magnitude of it afterwards, after I was, like, paraded around with the gold medal, I was like, I don't even know what my own name is anymore. That was the first time that I really experienced that. And then the next one, it was, like, a little bit bittersweet because I won where I maybe wasn't necessarily expected to win, but then I didn't win where I was expected to win. And that sort of took. That sort of took a precedence over the success. And that was this, like, first time that I saw sort the dark side of how. What the magnitude is and what people do expect. But you can't possibly. People who are watching can't possibly see everything all the time. So it all led into Beijing, and then Beijing was a challenging experience. And then that all led to Cortina, where I was like, oh, my gosh, we finally figured out that the Olympics are a vortex. And I don't know if that's good or bad, but it's like just. You're just in it, and you're so thoroughly in it. And now that I'm on this side of it, I can't even really remember what happened. Happened. Like, yeah, there's, like, a couple moments that stand out, but otherwise, it almost feels like it didn't happen.

[Ilona]

How old were you at your first Olympics? Because I know for me, Michaela Shiffrin is, like, a name I've known for years, it feels like, since I was 10 years old. But I. I think you've just had such a career in it. You've been doing this for so long. Also, I think one of those who potted, I. So many who's pioneered, like, femininity in sport, beauty in sport as well.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Thank you. How.

[Ilona]

How old were you? I. I feel like you're. You must be 45.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

I was. I was 18 in Sochi, so I'm 31 now. I just turned 31. It. Yeah. It's crazy to think back on

[Adriana]

so.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

So many years of competing actually now, because I still feel. I still feel very young in some ways, but my body feels pretty ancient at times. Yeah. Yeah, No, I know. But thank you for saying that, because obviously, coming from you, that means so much, and it's been so cool to see, like, to see so many women and so many athletes and like athletics, being really put up on a pedestal to be strong and to be, like, powerful, and to have all of these different individual pieces of your life and your personality and to have it all be. To all be important and to all be celebrated. And I just. Yeah, it's been. It's been fun to be a part of that. It's certainly been fun to watch what you are all doing for women in sport and beyond.

[Ilona]

Speaking of strength, we saw your back abs. What's happening with that? How are you doing this? Send me the workout routine.

[Adriana]

Yeah.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

It's so boring. This is so funny. My physical therapist, we were, like, diving into why that actually exists because she's the one who took the video. She was like, okay, we're doing pt, and she's like, okay, I have to take a video of this because your back is just going off. It's going crazy. And so she takes a video, and I'm like, send that to me. It's going to go viral. And then eventually it went viral. I was like, I don't even know what that is. I don't know know if I could do it right now. Like, I think I have to be laying flat on the ground, face down, or on a table, and, like, laugh in a specific way. And then these crazy muscles start popping.

[Ilona]

It's very cool.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Something.

[Ilona]

I'm trying it later.

[Adriana]

We're gonna have Alona lay down.

[Ilona]

We're gonna.

[Adriana]

We're gonna have her laugh in a circle.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

So that's the position. So you have to, like, lay down flat, face down. And then, like, lift your head a little bit and see if that does anything. And then also just like, face down and la. See what that does? Like a hot. Like a belly laugh. You have to engage your deep core, and then it's like they're a sign that your deep core is working.

[Ilona]

I don't have that. Another unattainable beauty standard for women. Back out.

[Adriana]

Nice.

[Ilona]

Michaela.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Don't. Trust me. They're already gone.

[Adriana]

Right?

[Ilona]

Right.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Oh, yeah.

[Adriana]

Yeah. You've been competing for so long. How have you changed as an athlete in this time?

[Michaela Shiffrin]

I have gone through quite a few phases over the years. Like, when I first we mentioned. I mentioned Sochi, and kind of going into Sochi a little bit naive to, you know, to what's possible as an athlete and as a female, that really. That really was a springboard for my career and to really be able to do this, like, as a profession and to sort of see that, like, I could create financial stability through this sport as well, because I think all, especially with women's sports, and that's like still a very big question in a lot of ways. And that happened. That started in my career pretty early. So that was, that was all really exciting. But after Sochi, this started this period of time where I guess expectations really climbed, like extra outside expectations. And I did not know really how to deal with that because up until that point I was always like, oh, I just, I ski because I love it, I'm passionate, I just want to feel better turned, et cetera. Um, and that was the first time. I remember one specific race where I did win, but I didn't win by as large of a margin as I had previously. Um, and the, the whole press conference, the only question that I got, it wasn't, the only question that I got was whether I felt like my level was dropping. Like it was. I, what did I do wrong in the off season to not be prepared to win by, by two seconds instead of six tenths of a second? And that just threw me off. And it was like a three year period where I had a lot of, really a lot of performance anxiety, you know, like nausea at the start gate and a lot of things that were challenging to handle and navigate. But it's like, I guess there have been phases where I've grown through, like accepting expectation, highlight, like really prior, I guess thinking a lot about those expectations and then realizing that that's not what provides joy at all. And so like working to push that aside and refocus on the simple act of skiing. Not maybe not simple, but just simply focusing on my skiing. And it always, it always gets back to what I'm doing in my preparation, how hard I'm working, how much I'm focusing on. So that's always like my guiding light. But there's this different phase of, of my career that's been like sort of the performance anxiety phase. And there's been like the, I literally don't give an F phase. And then, then there's, you know, like, there's just been so much this lately. It's like last year, okay, so last year I won my hundredth World cup race. And that was like fought to never, that was never going to happen. That, you know, this was just an impossibility in the sport. And that felt like it was a big highlight of the season, aside from my injury. It was like, will 100 happen? And so that happened. And then all of a sudden, like this was just built up so much and then now all of a sudden it's like oh, you have 110, like no big whatever. We don't even care. It's just crazy how sport works and how that you go through these phases. So I think, I think yeah, I, I mean I've changed a lot and I guess at this point in my life I'm just sort of going with the flow like see how long we can ride it. Maybe that story about like as a

[Adriana]

woman you can never be enough, you won, but you didn't win by enough. It's like that, huh?

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Yeah.

[Adriana]

That's the craziest thing to me. Do you work with a sports psych?

[Michaela Shiffrin]

I work with a clinical psychologist. I have done work with a sports psychologist just over the years. But sport was sort of where I felt the most secure in myself. Not like the maybe the most outgoing or the most like high self esteem person outside of when I'm like in my skis and doing this thing that just feels like even, even if I'm not doing it well. It's just the thing that I know how to do, you know, on good days and bad. This is what I know know outside of that it's, you know, I've definitely grown into myself. But the sports psychologist always felt like they were more obviously more focused on the sports side and the performance side. And that was not really something that specifically needed to be fixed. I feel like it's more, it's more how I exist in life, how I want to be happy with myself and my family and the things that I'm doing outside of, of sport and how I communicate with the people around me and boundary setting and those things and grief. So I started talking with this clinical psychologist 4 years ago actually it was after Beijing and it was inspired by sort of two parts, but a little bit by Beijing and also really mainly because I hadn't even started to talk to anybody about my grief from my dad passing and just to try to start unpacking things and understand what that even, what that even brought up. And now it's been four years and I'm like, you must be with me forever and I want you to stay with me and hold my hand. Never leave.

[Ilona]

Right.

[Adriana]

First them, then your fiance. It's all good, yeah? Yes, absolutely.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Do you do psychology or any sports psychology or like, like how does that impact?

[Ilona]

I use a lot of sports psychology. I don't know how you've been after any Olympics, but after Tokyo I had very bad like post Olympic blues and yeah, really was not okay. So then leading up to the Paris games, I was with my sports psych constantly. And was just preparing for myself for the next Olympics, which is so crazy. And not like in our sports both, but in the world, the Olympics, that you have to train all for four years for this one moment moment, and then you have to train another free years for the next moment. So it was training for that. So I have a sports psycho I really like. Austrian guy. Knows a lot. He just is quiet. And then he says something. You're like, shit, Peter, that was good.

[Olivia]

Write that down.

[Ilona]

Oh, I know.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Peter.

[Ilona]

Peter. Yeah, yeah, Peter Habra.

[Olivia]

That's my dog.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

I have worked with Peter. I know. Sorry. Absolutely.

[Ilona]

So great.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Yes. That's so funny.

[Ilona]

He's great.

[Olivia]

Great.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Small world, but yes, absolutely.

[Ilona]

The whole team, kind of. He does the whole team, but he does individual. And even recently, I was having trouble as well, like, figuring out. Because I'm taking some time off sports, like, figuring out what my identity is, what actually makes me happy. And so I was going to him for that as well. And he's super great. And now I actually see another therapist as well to just hit. Hit every point. And then I go to my sisters. I'm like, I don't need to talk to them. I'm fine this week.

[Adriana]

Right, Right. Get on Zoom.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Yeah, you should probably talk to them. My psychologist came to Cortina, and this was something we had planned from the summertime, because I had been. I had talked to Simone, and she's like, you have to, like, yes, you absolutely have to have her there. And I was like, that seems kind of, like, extravagant. Is it necessary? And then, even as we were leading up to it, I was like, it would be really great for you to sort of clear your schedule and be on the same time zone. And, like, I'm willing to do what's necessary to make this work, work, but I don't know that I'm gonna really need to talk to you and just like, be sort of waiting in the wings on standby just in case, you guys. She was, like, full time every day, all day, while we were in Cortina. It was not what I expected. It was like, the little things and, like, obviously checking in, in the psychology side. But it was, like, continuing to keep the team communicating with each other as the pressure got higher and all of these things. But it was like she was helping with the broader team as well. So, you know, I wasn't like, floodlight in a room, but probably exciting for her.

[Adriana]

They don't get a lot of work

[Michaela Shiffrin]

trips, you know, especially not in Cortina. Italy, she.

[Olivia]

Exactly.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

I honestly, I think she probably experienced this like post Olympic blues even more than I did because we had races right after. But was. Was that better for you after Paris then? Like, do you feel that you had some tactics?

[Ilona]

I mean, I had a lot of tactics. I think that probably the same as you when before we play a game, we're in a tunnel and the tunnel is where you know all your emotions are going and you have to hone in again for your race. I have to hone in to get on the field. So I had, I developed so many more tactics going into it, and my tactics kind of more became. I did my breathing, I did like conscious words. And then also I had to continue to repeat to myself that, that I wasn't alone out there, that I was a team sport, that I had other people who could help me. That was something I think that stuck with me from Tokyo is like, oh, this is my fault. I missed this tackle. It's all messed up. But it was like, no, I'm out there with my team. And I just had to kept saying that mantra and it worked. It was I. But I also won a medal in Paris, so that also can really help with that. But I know teammates of mine who was their first Olympics. Paris was their first Olympics and they had post Olympic blues because of how grand it was, how amazing it was. And then you go back to normal life.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

There's a letdown. Yeah, absolutely. Can I ask you another question? You mentioned, like, you remind yourself you're not alone out there and you are part of the team. And I was just. That was really interesting because team sports and individual sports are so drastically different in that way, but we do have the team. You're just like not on the field of play with your team. But do you feel sometimes like added pressure or any kind of difference now after Paris and how much you have grown and like brought eyes to the sport and brought eyes to yourself and your family, do you feel like an added level of isolation in that?

[Ilona]

I think in some ways, like I played 15's rugby, which is different than Sevens, but when I played in these fifteens games, so many people were coming out, out just to see me. And so you're out there on the field with so many people, but you know that when, whatever you do, they're especially watching your moves. So I do feel that added pressure. But then I also felt, oh, there's even more people on my team with me. But I do get embarrassed. I think I usually, I try to, I feel Like, I have to be perfect for people watching. I have to give them a good show now because I'm the reason they bought a ticket and come out to this game. And if I don't give them a good show, then are they going to come back to the next game? So there's definitely pressure. I'm figuring it out. I think it'll be interesting going back into Olympic prep and the pressure I'm gonna feel in that because I haven't done the Olympic form rugby yet. So then people are gonna be especially eyes on me. I haven't been in that setting, so we'll see how I hold up. Actually, I might need to know your clinical psychologist. She sounds great.

[Adriana]

Yeah, send that along.

[Ilona]

Send that along.

[Adriana]

Adriana and I witnessed it happen. And what's happening to her is not normal. It's very cool and she handles it so beautifully, but it's not a normal thing. So that's why her and I are here. Like, girl on board. Let's talk to our therapist.

[Olivia]

God, am I just.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Oh, I don't know.

[Adriana]

Let's just call our therapist maybe.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Absolutely. I know. I'm like, still. I'm like, do you have time? Could you talk? Can I text you? I'm so sorry. Do you have time for me?

[Adriana]

She's like, that's alone texting her gyno.

[Ilona]

That's me and my gyno. I love texting my gyno.

[Adriana]

She loves her gyno.

[Olivia]

Just what, you call them up, you

[Ilona]

know, I gotta call her up.

[Adriana]

We want to hear your love story. Real cool. If that's it. We're all romantics. We read a lot of romance books, watch a lot of rom coms. How did you meet your fiance? He is a Norwegian alpine skier.

[Ross]

He is.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

I met him at a ski camp. Training camp in Chile. Gosh, it was probably like 10 years ago now or maybe even more. And we sort of flirted a little bit, but. But at the time, like, I don't think we either of us had partners, but it was like, I don't know, whatever. We were sort of messaging on Facebook, and then this was just like a. It was like a six year process. Yeah. Because we've been together four years, really slow burn, where we, like, weren't talking and then we would try to talk, and I. I kind of rejected him. Which now in hindsight is pretty clear. But at the time, I thought I was being flir. Cretaceous. So he. We went to, like, a media day together for Atomic. For a ski company. He skis on the Same brand. And we were kind of the only two athletes at the media day. The night before. Everybody else was living in Europe and they were all driving in on the day of. So we were eating dinner. It was Alex, me, my mom and my agent. And. And we just had dinner together and we had a really nice time and whatnot. And then we all like, you know, went to our rooms and whatever, did the media day. And then the next day I left to go do another commitment and he was texting me and he was like, so when, when do we get to have dinner? And I was like, we had dinner last night. And I really thought that that was like sort of, you know, just like a little bit play hard to get kind of. But he was like, like, copy that.

[Adriana]

See you.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

See you when I see you. And then wildly, he. He totally ghosted me after that. And yeah, and I was like that that guy is not to be trusted. So it took a little while to build that back. It was just a, just a, just your standard mix up, like little, little misunderstanding that lasted like six years. And so when we finally did start actually officially communicating, it was during COVID We weren't really allowed to see each other during that time, but I did over this period of time. I did tell him this was also after my dad passed away. So I was like, I'm not interested in love. I'm not interested in finding someone. I want to be with my family if we're gonna go travel on the skiing tour. I just don't really wanna be in. I just, yeah, not interested. But he had sent me a really kind, thoughtful message about basically like, if you for some reason need somebody to just listen, I like, I'm a good listener and you don't need. I don't need to like be anything. You don't need to feel pressure. If it's like outside of family, if that's helpful, I don't know, just whatever. And I thought it was just the way he worded it was like for whatever reason, it could have been a thousand different messages. But the way that you said this makes me, me feel like, let's just see what you might say if we chatted. So that's sort of how it actually started was during that Covid, that Covid year when we were traveling racing and I had to straight up tell him because he kind of ghosted me again. Like he was sort of in and out and I was just like, I need you to know that I'm interested. Stop messing around. He's like, no, no, I'm not.

[Ilona]

I love that, Michaela.

[Adriana]

That's literally alone as a pro messing around.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

So good. No, it worked because he doesn't mess around. Like, we have talked every single day since then.

[Adriana]

Oh, can we see your ring?

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Yeah, I think I. Oh, my God. Sorry. It's a little bit scrub thick, so it looks it actually, it's like, all one piece. And he designed it. He had a really bad crash. Ski crash a couple years ago in Switzerland in one of the World cup races. And he was in the hospital for eight weeks recovering. But during this time in the hospital, he was actually designing the ring.

[Adriana]

Men just aren't designing rings from hospital beds anymore. They're just not doing that.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

They just don't do it enough. And it. And it shows. But he did it. Yeah, he did it. He was like, I wanted it to match your other rings. You like thick rings. I know you like gold. He was really thoughtful with it, which was. Was just adorable.

[Ilona]

I don't know.

[Olivia]

It's amazing.

[Adriana]

I love that.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

That's my love story. Yeah.

[Adriana]

Thank you for that. We needed that. That's going to keep us going for the next while.

[Ilona]

We've learned a lot from this, actually, because we were just talking about ghosting and men not being great communicators, and I am under the impression we should give them grace. So now, look, Olivia, give some men more grace, and then if you express interest, who knows what could happen?

[Adriana]

The ones I'm talking to are not Norwegian skiers, though.

[Ilona]

I will say that. So. No.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Okay. So what's your.

[Ilona]

What's our dating lives?

[Adriana]

Single, single, single, single, single, single. Crickets around here, babe.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Looking.

[Adriana]

If you got anybody for us at all, put it in our DMS right now.

[Ilona]

Let us know. Okay.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Huh?

[Adriana]

Okay.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

All right. All right. Good to know.

[Ilona]

Alone.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Can. Can.

[Ilona]

Yes. Michaela asked me.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Can I ask about your Sports Illustrated swimsuit experiences? You seem to have so much fun. Like, how easy was it to get into that zone, to truly show your body in this way?

[Ilona]

You haven't done it yet?

[Michaela Shiffrin]

No, I haven't done it yet. And I'm like, I don't know. I'm.

[Ilona]

You don't know if you can do it?

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Girl, I would be so interested, but only because I've seen athletes like you doing this in a way that's like. Like, wow, that's real. That's like that sport. I mean, it's not just sport. It's just like women's bodies is in a different way.

[Ilona]

I will say the team's all great. Like, truly Amazing. I don't think you'll ever feel sexier than when you're on a Sports Illustrated set or when you're at swim week with them. I think for me, it was like, I feel like it's my duty to show this body in all lights in a swimsuit for the girls. So, yeah, I had no problem with it. I also come from a family of of, you know, girls, and I have a mom who I always saw. So it was never, like, a crazy thing to see my body in that light.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Yeah.

[Ilona]

But, yeah, girl, you need to do that.

[Olivia]

Clock in and I can there for Alona's first shoot with them, and I was like, she's gonna be nervous.

[Ilona]

Like, we'll see.

[Olivia]

The way I could just see her drop into it and just start. And I was like, where the did that come from?

[Ilona]

Yeah, it was crazy.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

That's so awesome. Oh, crazy.

[Ilona]

No hesitation.

[Adriana]

She's another animal on set.

[Ilona]

Michaela, let's get into a game we like to call try hard. In rugby, a goal is called try. So in this, you have to try to answer these questions as quickly as possible.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Oh, gosh.

[Ilona]

Okay, let's see. You celebrated Olympic gold with an espresso martini. Is it your go to cocktail now or what is it?

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Is not. Does not. Does not help sleep. I am. I will have it at some time, but doesn't help me sleep at all. So if it needs to be like, a 3pm drop drink, go to is probably gin and tonic.

[Adriana]

Okay.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

With monkey 47 specifically.

[Adriana]

Hey.

[Ilona]

Okay. Very cool.

[Adriana]

Okay.

[Olivia]

What's your favorite Vermont mountain to ski?

[Michaela Shiffrin]

I mean, I'm partial to Burke because I've spent so much time there, but Killington is also. Yeah, actually, maybe I'm partial to Killington. I've spent more time. Time. Yeah. Killington is pretty special. Yeah.

[Adriana]

Hell, yeah.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

We've had really good races there. It's fun.

[Adriana]

I think when we met you in Germany for the first time, Adriana was talking about how Vermont just likes to claim you because you happened to ski there a couple times. Vermont's like, oh, she's from here.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Absolutely. Oh, she's ours. Yeah. I. I claim both sides of the country. I claim everywhere. Now I claim Norway, too, so. Right. You know. Absolutely.

[Adriana]

What is something in your house that's really special to you?

[Michaela Shiffrin]

My bed. Bed. Yeah. It just is. And this year, like, as I do get older, I mentioned that my body feels a little bit ancient. It's like, if I do not sleep on. If I sleep on a mat. A bad mattress. I'm like, done for, like, absolutely kaput. And I have had several experiences with really tough mattresses this winter. And this is, like, a significant change from previously in my life life. Like, mattresses are always important, but my dad used to be like, make sure you get a good mattress because your body will thank you. And now I realize that every single time I do go home, immediately after I sleep in my own bed, I feel like a million times better. And my physical therapist notices too. She'll be like, what is going on with your. With your back right now? And I'm like, I. The mattress is. I don't. I think it's bad. And she's like, all right, yep, we gotta. Okay, we're gonna have a little work cut out for us for the next week as we're staying in at this.

[Adriana]

Damn.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Anyway, so mattress.

[Ilona]

Good thing you're a Winter Olympian, because those cardboard beds, man. Your therapist would feel that. She'd feel that I.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Yes, I actually purchased a mattress for Cortina. Did you?

[Ilona]

Good for you.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

It was earlier in the season that I was really struggling, and I. I like Purch. Not a full mattress, but like a topper. But this thing is. Yeah, this thing is plush. And I now. Yeah. Well, good for you. Specifically, like, tension headaches in the morning. Nobody wants to be around me when I have that, so. Right.

[Ilona]

I have one more for you before we close out. Do you have a quote or something that you live by?

[Adriana]

A mantra?

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Be nice, think first, have fun. That's also something my parents sort of instilled in my brother and myself when we were growing up. And, yeah, I guess it kind of speaks for itself, but, like, try to think about what you're doing, be thoughtful, be nice, be kind to people and have fun with what you're doing in that. Like, learn to be passionate about the process of improvement.

[Ilona]

Yeah, I love that.

[Adriana]

Well, thank you so much for coming over, Mikaela. Make sure you are following Mikayla on IG and TikTok. Akayla Shifrin. Give your reindeer a kiss from us.

[Ilona]

Thank you so much for being.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Thank you, guys.

[Adriana]

Thank you, Mikayla.

[Ilona]

Thank you, Michaela.

[Adriana]

Hope to see you soon.

[Michaela Shiffrin]

Enjoy New York. Okay.

[Olivia]

Thank you so much for coming over to the House of Mar A Wave original.

[Ilona]

Be sure to watch, subscribe on YouTube and listen wherever you get your podcasts.

[Adriana]

Plus, follow the show on social media HouseOfMar for clips and behind the scenes content where you can find out if we know ball. So do you. See you there.

[Ilona]

Cause do you.

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[Michaela Shiffrin]

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[Ilona]

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