Mikaela Shiffrin shares highlights of a unique in-flight 30th birthday celebration

Mikaela Shiffrin is the winningest skier of all-time and she recently turned 30. As a result of her hectic schedule as an athlete, the American celebrated her birthday on a plane in a unique fashion and shared highlights from the same with fans.

Shiffrin first began her World Cup career in 2011, and secured her first World Cup podium a year later. Since then, the 30-year-old has gone on a record-breaking run, and earlier this year she became the first skier in history to claim 100 World Cup wins.

The skier has also won 11 discipline and five overall World Cup titles, three Olympic medals, and 15 World Championships medals. On Thursday, March 13, Mikaela Shiffrin celebrated her 30th birthday. Sharing photos of herself in an airport and on a plane on Instagram, the American gave fans a glimpse of her unique birthday celebrations, writing,

“30, in the sky (thanks, @united).”

Mikaela Shiffrin claims record-breaking World Cup podium in Are, Sweden

Shiffrin at the FI Are, Alpine Ski World Cup - Women's Slalom (Image Source: Getty)

Mikaela Shiffrin has already established herself as one of the greatest skiers to have ever graced the sport, and on Sunday, March 9, she proved exactly why she's the best of the best.

Competing at the World Cup in Are, Sweden, Shiffrin stormed to a bronze medal in the slalom event behind Austrians Katharina Truppe and Katharina Liensberger. This marked her 156th podium finish, officially surpassing the previous record of 155 World Cup podium finishes held by Swedish legend Ingemar Stenmark.

For Shiffrin, this race comes just a little over three months after she suffered a devastating crash when racing in Cortina d'Ampezzo, an accident that put her out of action for eight weeks. Reflecting on her third-place finish in Are, the American told AP,

“I actually feel pretty good about it. I maybe wasn’t always perfect but I was pushing really hard. I’m still trying to get the repetition back. I just have to keep practicing it.”

With this win, Mikaela Shiffrin has remained in contention for the World Cup slalom title, with the last race of the year taking place later this month. The 30-year-old revealed that she plans to train in Europe ahead of the race and will have to make a trip across multiple time zones to reach the final race.

“There’s certainly some travel challenges. It’s a really long distance. I guess one more race this season for me but I’m looking forward to it,” she sai

The season-ending World Cup is scheduled to be held between March 20 - 27. The competition will take place in Sun Valley, Idaho.