“That’s the way grief works. It’s not linear. It’s not a climb up a mountain. It’s more like a maze,” the 8-time world champion Mikaela Shiffrin had said to Players’ Tribune back in 2022. The man who had always held a camera to capture her biggest milestones was no longer there to take a picture of her. It had been 5 years since her father, Jeff Shiffrin, passed away. Now, five years later, the pain may have settled, but the memories still run deep. And on Father’s Day, Shiffrin marked the moment not just for herself, but for him too…
Her bond with her father was a special one. He was the one who encouraged her to ski and offered guidance along the way. The 2024 season had been a difficult one for Shiffrin, especially after her slalom race at the World Cup finals, where she suffered a severe puncture wound that caused trauma to her oblique muscles. These were the moments she still wished she could ask him for advice. “I just wish,” she told AP News back in March, “I could ask him.”
On the special occasion of her graduation and Father’s Day, she remembered him. The American alpine ski racer and Olympic gold medalist recently received an honorary degree from Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. Naturally, Mikaela Shiffrin shared the moment with her loved ones—and especially with her father, who would have turned 70 this year.
Mikaela shared several pictures of her graduation day wearing her graduation cap and gown, while penning a wholesome note for her father. Wishing her dad a Father’s Day, she wrote, “Hey Dad…I received an honorary degree from Dartmouth today. Who’d have ever thought we’d have two Dr. Shiffrins in the fam? (One went through 12+ years of school, one skis down a mountain.) Felt a bit closer to you in the past 24 hrs-for the first time in a long time-and I’m so grateful for that. Happy Father’s Day. I miss you, always.”
Shriffin’s mom Eileen also shared a post on her Instagram to convey her delight. She wrote the post a day before her graduation, which was also Father’s Day: “A brief moment with some of our oldest and dearest friends here in Hanover. Tomorrow, Father’s Day, Mikaela will receive an Honorary degree from her dad’s Alma Mater – Dartmouth. So special. Hearts full.”
Eileen was a retired master’s ski racer and decided to become an ICU nurse after obligations took over. But she knew that her daughter would need all the help she could get to become a world champion. Jeff Shiffrin, with his wife, settled down in the Vail area decades ago, and together raised Mikaela and Taylor Shiffrin, who was a member of the two-time NCAA Champion University of Denver Ski Team. Jeff Shiffrin was an anesthesiologist with Vail Health and Anesthesia Partners of Colorado, aiding numerous injured skiers and riders in the area.
While her mother was her coach, her father was her biggest cheerleader. They were the reason that today she is an Olympian and the world champion. Unfortunately, she lost her biggest cheerleader too soon on February 2, 2020, as a result of a head injury. And even today, she feels the pain of losing someone so close to her while having huge career updates.
Mikaela Shiffrin receives an honorary award
Mikaela Shiffrin wore a cap and gown instead of her usual ski gear as she received an honorary degree from Dartmouth College. She stood alongside well-known names like Michelle Yeoh, smiling through a special moment. The 29-year-old is still healing from a big crash in 2024 and has spoken openly about how tough that time was, especially after her fall in Killington last November.
Due to flashbacks from the crash, she had to miss the massive slalom race during the 2025 World Skiing Championships. However, she has been on the recovery road for a long time and is optimistic about her future. Shiffrin is expected to start her 16th World Cup season on 25 October, with the enormous slalom opener in Sölden, Austria. But these are the times she remembers her father the most. Access Hollywood’s Instagram handle shared a conversation between Mikaela Shiffrin and host Emily Orozco on February 27, 2025. Five years after her father’s demise, what were her emotions related to this loss? The interview was where she answered these questions and showed her vulnerable side.
In the discussion, the questions became a bit vulnerable, asking the ski racer about missing her father in critical moments of her career. The question made Shiffrin choke up in tears, but she managed to answer nonetheless. While responding to the question, she said, “Oh, it’s a little; we could get deep here. I have struggled with, feel like a lot of people talk about, um, grief and, you know, the passing of a loved one and how they do feel their presence. And I have struggled with this, this is frustrating that I don’t always feel his presence when I want to.”
For Shiffrin, this moment was more than a degree—it was a quiet victory on her long road back.
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