Do we like them?

Do we like Mikaela Shiffrin?

Our score: 8 out of 10. A record with no harm in it, real generosity and public stands for inclusion, held back from the top only by a thin record on LGBTQ+ topics specifically.

Shiffrin is the most successful skier in World Cup history. By the time she won the 2026 Olympic slalom she had passed Ingemar Stenmark's 87 wins and reached 108, with three Olympic golds (2014, 2018, 2026) and a silver from 2018. She is also the first American to win three Alpine Olympic golds, according to AP.

The 2026 Games were a rollercoaster. Before her first race she told a press conference she wanted to show up and represent her values, naming inclusivity, diversity and kindness, when a reporter asked how it felt to represent the US given the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. She then went through a run of near-misses before winning slalom gold on 18 February.

The abuse she copped for those comments was nasty. In March she posted some of the messages she had received, including telling her to “Stay in Italy” and calling her a traitor. Hate aimed at her does not count against her, and it says more about the people sending it than about her.

On the harm test, nothing turned up. There are no harmful statements in the reporting and no sign she works with people who push harm. On the planet she signed the 2023 open letter from nearly 200 skiers asking the ski federation to act on climate change. The gap is that no coverage found shows her speaking on trans rights specifically, so this is a pass on the evidence rather than a loud ally record.

On the good-person side the record is clean. No court case or misconduct allegation turned up. The one penalty was a 999 Swiss franc fine from the ski federation in late 2025 for turning up late to a bib draw after reportedly getting lost, which is hardly a scandal. Her MIK100 drive, built around her 100th World Cup win, set out to raise $100,000 for kids who otherwise couldn't afford to learn to ski, and she kicked it off with $10,000 of her own.

So would we support her? Yes. She is a champion who speaks up for kindness and inclusion, gives back, and has had no scandal. We would only want a stronger LGBTQ+ record to lift the score higher.