Shiffrin Wins Gold

February 15, 2018 By E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

Moon setting of Mt. Mansfield, Stowe, Vermont, USA. By DonLand @ Shutterstock.com

Congratulations to Mikaela Shiffrin on her come from behind second run to win the gold medal in the giant slalom.

Earlier this year I wondered, just how good is Michaela Shiffrin? I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anyone better.

What makes Shiffrin masterful on course is the impeccable form she developed on the icy slopes of Vermont where she went to high school. Ben Cohen explains Shiffrin’s rise to the top:

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Shiffrin was born in Colorado, moved to New Hampshire and trained in Vermont before moving back in middle school to what may be the best place on the planet for a skier. And the person who today may be the best skier on the planet didn’t want to be there. Her parents knew she needed to get back to the Northeast.

She enrolled at the Burke Mountain Academy, a boarding school in Vermont for ski racers, where the snow was so bad that it was basically ice. But what’s miserable for most skiers was magical for Shiffrin. This is where she became the most dominant skier alive.

“It’s perfect conditions,” said Bug Pech, Shiffrin’s high-school roommate, “because it’s horrible conditions.”

That contradiction is one reason she may leave Pyeongchang considered the greatest of all-time in her sport.

E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

E.J. Smith is Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. His focus at all times is on preparing clients and readers for “Times Like These.” E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zildjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart (RIP) of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West (RIP JB) and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com To sign up for my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter, click here.

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