Amid Mikaela Shiffron's 2026 Olympic slalom gold win, take a look at the pro skier's love story with fiance, Aleksander Aamodt Kilde.
Mikaela Shiffrin is a well-known American alpine skier. Born to parents who were ski racers themselves, it is only natural that she too started in the sport at a young age. In her early days, one of the major competitions Shiffrin won was the Topolino Games in Italy, where she reportedly beat skiers from 40 nations. It is worth noting that Shiffrin is a five-time World Cup champion and a four-time slalom champion. While Mikaela Shiffrin often hogs the spotlight for her skiing matches, this time she is grabbing the headlines for winning the gold in slalom in the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
She reportedly finished with a combined time of 1:39.10, leaving Switzerland's Camille Rast, who took silver, 1.5 seconds behind and Sweden's Anna Swenn Larsson, who got bronze, about 1.71 seconds behind. It is worth noting that Shiffrin's win this time broke her 0-for-8 streak at the Winter Games. While Shiffon's professional career continues to grab attention, many have also started to wonder about the athlete's personal life. For those unaware, Mikaela Shiffrin is in a relationship with Norwegian alpine ski racer, Aleksander Aamodt Kilde. Without further ado, let's take a look at Mikaela Shiffrin and Aleksander Aamodt Kilde's love story — one of the most exquisite ones in the sporting world.
If a report by Essentially Sports is believed to be true, Shiffrin and Kilde connected over their shared background in sports. In fact, it was alpine skiing itself that played cupid between the couple. Apparently, Shiffrin and Kilde met each other for the first time during a ski camp, although at that time neither of them thought that they would end up with each other.
It wasn't until many years later that Kilde decided to further their relationship by asking Shiffrin out on a date. Although based on reports online, Shiffrin turned down his offer, making it not the most perfect start to their relationship. Irrespective of Shiffrin dismissing his offer at the time, Kilde was not one to give up on his love so soon. This led him to keep in touch with her. Years later, ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics, Shiffrin confessed to US Weekly:
“At the time, I could not imagine. I was like, ‘I’m not doing this. I'm not going through love because I cannot go through losing people. Maybe it sounds dramatic, but it's one of those things where you're just totally closed off to it.”
The exact time that Mikaela Shiffrin and Aleksander Aamodt Kilde crossed paths was in 2014, according to Vogue Scandinavia. After their first meeting, they reconnected in 2021, 7 years later. For those unaware, Shiffrin's father, Jeff, passed away on February 2, 2021. This was when Kilde decided to offer her his condolences via an Instagram message. It is worth mentioning that at the time, Kilde himself was going through a rather tough time, recovering from a career-threatening injury.
After Shiffrin and Kilde officially began talking in the autumn of that year, they ended up becoming each other's solace. It was their mutual support during a challenging period that helped their friendship evolve into a blossoming love story. To mention, when they began to date, both Shiffrin and Kilde kept things low-key and out of the public eye.
It was on May 31, 2021, that Shiffrin and Kilde finally decided to make things public by sharing a photo of themselves together. In the adorable photo of the two that Kilde posted on Instagram, he announced their relationship with the caption, “If you know, you know…and now you know.” Sometime later, Kilde once again confirmed their relationship during an interview with Olympics.com, claiming they were enjoying their time together.
As you can imagine, with both Kilde and Shiffrin being pro athletes, they spend most of their time on the slopes. Furthermore, owing to their individual schedules, which are as hectic as can be, Shiffrin and Kilde are often apart geographically. Still, the athletic couple makes things work. While having a conversation with Olympics.com, Kilde once said:
“It can be very tough, because you want to be there physically with each other. And that's the hardest part, because the distance is there.”
After years of dating, Kilde and Shiffrin took the next big step in their relationship. They got engaged in April 2024 and shared the happy news with their fans via a joint Instagram post. If you are wondering when they will tie the knot, while the couple hasn't revealed the exact date, they have acknowledged their upcoming nuptials. According to The Olympian, Shiffrin said:
"We've talked about it here and there. We're just like, ‘Do you want a big one or a small one?' It would be so fun to have a really, really big one and just invite everybody who's ever been impactful in our lives. But also, that seems like a lot. What if we just do a really, really small one? Unfortunately, we're so much of the same mindset that I don't know if it's going to be easy to make any decisions."
What are your thoughts on Mikaela Shiffrin and Aleksander Aamodt Kilde's love story amid Shiffrin's gold medal win at the 2026 Winter Olympics? Let us know.
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