Mikaela Shiffrin, prepping for 2018 Winter Olympics, renews deal with LEKI

EAGLE-VAIL — Olympic gold medalist and overall World Cup champion Mikaela Shiffrin has inked a sponsorship renewal agreement with LEKI through 2022.

The five-year contract lasts through 2022 and guarantees Shiffrin, of Eagle-Vail, will continue to train and compete exclusively with LEKI poles — see them in action at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.

‘IT’S SKI RACING’

Shiffrin, 22, is busy using those poles training for the World Cup season and the Winter Olympics next year in Pyeongchang, South Korea — a country coming into its own as a destination for skiers and snowboarders heading to Asia.

“The thing that I love about sports and about what I do is that pretty much wherever we go, snow conditions change and weather can be different, but generally speaking it’s ski racing,” Shiffrin told an audience at The Westin Riverfront Resort & Spa — her home gym — in Avon in June.

During the rare time she’s not on the road competing or training, the Eagle-Vail resident spends time with her family at home, while also making time for workouts and practice sessions.

“Vail and Beaver Creek are my home mountains, but I live really close to Beaver Creek, so it’s so easy to just drive there,” the reigning overall World Cup champion and Olympic slalom gold medalist said in a chairlift chat in the spring.

Shiffrin will be competing in her second Winter Olympics next February in Pyeongchang. In 2017, she became the fifth American to win an overall World Cup title — and she did it at a 22 years old. She also won her fourth World Cup slalom title and was second overall in the giant slalom standings.

“I am very happy to extend my partnership with LEKI until 2022,” Shiffrin said. “LEKI’s poles, arm guards and shinguards are best in class.”

Follow Shiffrin’s journey to the Olympics on social media and for more information about LEKI poles, visit http://www.leki.com.