For Mikaela Shiffrin, it seems major competitions are the time to make big decisions about her coaching team. The U.S. Ski Team today announced that Shiffrin is parting ways with longtime coach Mike Day, who鈥檚 been by her side throughout her , including on February 8, when she won silver in the FIS World Championship super-G.
The coaching change went into effect immediately, with Day reportedly making his way back to the U.S. after learning about the decision.
鈥淢ikaela wants to do something different going forward,鈥 U.S. Alpine director Patrick Riml told on Wednesday. 鈥淎nd she informed Mike and Mike decided to go home. It鈥檚 a shock for me that he took off.鈥
According to reports, Shiffrin informed Day that she planned to take a new direction with her staff at the end of the season.
鈥淎fter working with Mike Day for seven seasons, I鈥檝e decided to move forward with new leadership on my team for the next phase of my career,鈥 Shiffrin said in a statement released by the U.S. Ski Team. 鈥淚 want to thank Mike and acknowledge all of his work and dedication over the last several years.鈥
It鈥檚 not the first time Shiffrin has made significant changes to her coaching staff mid-season. Last year, she dismissed longtime coach and trainer Jeff Lackie just three weeks before she was set to compete in the Beijing Olympics. Lackie had been a member of Shiffrin鈥檚 coaching staff for six years.
Shiffrin has not yet shared what new direction she鈥檚 taking with her staff, or who will replace Day as head coach. Team Shiffrin still includes her mother, Eileen Shiffrin, as well as assistant coach Mark Mitter, who joined her staff at the start of this season. Shiffrin, the superstar on the U.S. Ski Team, has always had her own personal coaching staff that operates separately from the larger U.S. Ski Team and its discipline-specific coaching teams and athletes.
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Shiffrin will now continue her World Championship run in Courchevel-Meribel, France, without Day, competing in the women鈥檚 giant slalom on February 16 followed by the slalom on February 18. Winning both events鈥攈er specialities鈥攚ould mean ending this World Championships, which has been punctuated by both highs and lows, on a positive note.
Shiffrin got off to a shaky start in France after , an event she was expected to win. Then she dismissed speculation that she was on track for a by grabbing silver in the super-G just two days after her disqualification.
But on the heels of that race, Shiffrin was targeted by a small protest from environmentalists who believed, mistakenly, that she was traveling by helicopter between her off-site training base in Orcieres, only a 40-minute drive from the World Championship venues in Courchevel. That rumor spread at the same time that Shiffrin鈥檚 name was attached to the open letter sent by more than 300 professional skiers .
Needless to say, it鈥檚 been a rollercoaster of a World Championship for Team Shiffrin.