REUTERS/Lisa Leutner
- Mikaela Shiffrin broke Lindsey Vonn's all-time alpine skiing World Cup record in Kronplatz, Italy.
- A day later, the 27-year-old won yet another title during an "unfortunate time of my monthly cycle."
- Shiffrin then mocked the stigma around "talking about my period" in tongue-in-cheek social media posts.
Mikaela Shiffrin is the queen of the mountain.
And she wants everyone to know: Even queens get their periods.
After winning her 84th World Cup title in Kronplatz, Italy, Wednesday, the newly crowned winningest World Cup champion in women's alpine skiing history was radically honest about being at "an unfortunate time of my monthly cycle" for the race.
"So I'm more tired right now," Shiffrin said with a laugh. "We just normalized talking about that."
AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta
Despite the excess fatigue and, potentially, countless other symptoms — like cramps and headaches — commonly experienced by people who get their periods, Shiffrin managed to win back-to-back World Cups during her trip to the Dolomites. Not only did she surpass Lindsey Vonn's record 82 titles, but she tacked on another win a day later to further chip away at Ingemar Stenmark's all-time record for alpine skiing World Cup victories (86), regardless of gender.
If Shiffrin were to win a pair of slaloms this weekend in Spindleruv Mlyn, in the Czech Republic, she'd tie the legendary Swedish racer's total win count. But when asked if she sees that as a possibility, Shiffrin quipped that "technically, it is possible," before explaining the plight of her time of the month.
Shortly thereafter, the Vail, Colorado, native took to social media to mock the taboo surrounding menstruation talk. She posted a clip of the post-race interview spliced with video of her riding a stationary bike, then wrote "so nice to get my monthly cycle in… 😅🚴."
"…just in case anyone else is confused… it's my period," she added. "We're talking about my period. 🤦♀️😂 #normalizeperiods."
—Mikaela Shiffrin (@MikaelaShiffrin) January 26, 2023
In the Twitter comments, Shiffrin further explained the many ways that having one's period can impact athletes ahead of major competitions. Increased stress, injury risk, fatigue, and soreness are just some of the issues women "just have to deal with" during their times of the month, she wrote.
"Sleep is disrupted. Spatial awareness and balance can be impacted as well," Shiffrin added. "So basically… it's terrible."
—Mikaela Shiffrin (@MikaelaShiffrin) January 27, 2023
Shriffin's now headed East for yet another shot to make history. But whether she can continue to overcome all of the aforementioned symptoms is anybody's guess, including hers.
"We'll see if I can put the energy on my slalom skis for two more races," Shiffrin said.