Not every comeback ends in a fairytale, and even the most notorious athletes fail to flip the results sometimes. Mikaela Shiffrin is the most recent example.

The 30-year-old entered the Milan Cortina Olympics to end her medal drought since 2018, but things didn't go the way she wanted. Despite a strong start in the first run, Shiffrin fell back to the 11th rank in the giant slalom event on Sunday, February 15.

Shriffin finished her first run at the 7th position, clocking 1:04.25. But she failed to manage the pace in the second run, finishing at 2:14.42. Her 2024 abdomen injury in Vermont may have played a role, something she mentioned earlier on her socials.

"I'm proud of how far I've come. A little over a year ago — following my crash and injury in Killington”, she wrote on February 14. “I couldn't even imagine skiing giant slalom at this level again, let alone starting in the discipline at the Olympics.”

8 years ago, Shiffrin claimed her first giant slalom gold at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. In 2014, she was the youngest woman in Olympic history to win gold in slalom at the Sochi Winter Olympics. Butthe dream to claim gold in Milan remained unfinished.

While Shiffrin could not have her desired comeback, Italy's Federica Brignone also returned to the ice after a career-threatening injury. And in her case, the comeback was no less than a fairytale.

Federica Brignone Won Her Second Gold of the 2026 Winter Olympics

The 35-year-old Skier crashed in 2025 April, during the Italian championships giant slalom. She sustained multiple fractures in her left leg’s tibial plateau and fibula, along with a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).

What followed was an immediate surgery and months of intensive rehabilitation. However, in less than a year, Brignone returned to the ice and claimed her first Gold from Milan on February 12, in the women’s super-G event.

And the run at the giant slalom only enhanced her glory. Brignone concluded two races within 2:13.50 at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre. And the racer described the run as “easy” afterwards.

"It was such an easy run, because the snow was so easy," said Brignone. “You just have to go straight, apart from the initial curves, it's really very easy.”

One game, two comebacks and two different outcomes. But the effort, patience and dedication both athletes put into their game are the same.

Do you think Shiffrin’s upcoming comeback will look different when she’ll compete the slalom race on Wednesday? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Deblina Roy

Edited by

Souvik Roy