"I think she'd be really good at slalom" - When Mikaela Shiffrin guessed how Simone Biles would fare at skiing

Mikaela Shiffrin and Simone Biles are both at the top of their respective sports and have often showered each other with praise online. Back in 2023, Shiffrin opened up about how she thinks Biles would fare on the slopes.

This came after the gymnast had mentioned the 95-time World Cup winner as a strong contender on the balance beam. Biles was doing a video with Laureus, where she guessed what athletes from other sports would fare best on a certain gymnastics apparatus.

“On beam, I would love to see Mikaela Shiffrin, because honestly I think she’d be really good at it because she’s a beast in her sport and I think there are similarities in balance," Bailes said.

A few weeks after this, at a media event organized by her sponsor Atomic, Mikaela Shiffrin told Olympics.com that she thought Simone Biles had been too generous,

“I think I would be terrible at it. But it's amazing that Simone said she thought I'd be good!” Shiffrin said.

However, Shiffrin did seem certain that the gymnast would ace the slopes, if the roles were reversed.

“I think she'd be really good at slalom. But I’m pretty sure she could do everything! The explosiveness helps a lot in slalom. But she's strong and she's smart, you know, she can do it all!” she added.

Mikaela Shiffrin and Simone Biles have never shied away from rooting for each other. In early 2023, Biles was featured in a video from NBC, joining other celebrities congratulating Shiffrin for resetting the overall record for World Cup victories.

Later in the year, the ace skier was quick to congratulate her compatriot when she became the most decorated gymnast in history after her comeback to the international scene at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium.

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When will Mikaela Shiffrin be back in action?

While racing in Cortina d'Ampezzo in late January, Mikaela Shiffrin suffered one of the worst crashes of her career. The American was coming out of a jump when she lost control and rammed into the safety net at a high speed.

The crash looked concerning, and Shiffrin stayed down for 10 minutes as she was attended to by the medics. She was later airlifted to a local hospital to check for further injuries on her left knee.

Since then, the 28-year-old has been working on her recovery but she is yet to make an appearance at any race. Now the 95-time World Cup winner has updated fans on when they can expect her back on the slopes.

In a post on X, Shiffrin announced that if everything goes according to plan, she will compete in Are, Switzerland, on March 9 and 10.