Sawt Falasteen - Vail's golden comets Vonn and Shiffrin inspire those who follow

Both women were members of the Vail Ski and Snowboard Club (SSCV), like the children heading for a day's skiing this season.

Shiffrin, who was born in Vail in the Colorado Rockies and grew up in nearby Edwards, joined the club aged six, and went east to Vermont before returning.

She has gone on to set the record for World Cup wins and will be chasing a third Olympic gold at the Milan-Cortina Games.

Vonn, who is almost 11 years older, had already gone in the opposite direction, moving west to Vail at 11 from her native Minnesota in search of a bigger, steeper slope.

She has the second most career World Cup wins by a woman.

After coming out of retirement last season, Vonn has made a remarkable comeback aged 41, until she ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament in a race on January 30.

She is determined not to let the injury stop her and will line for the Olympic downhill final on Sunday.

"Both Mikaela and Lindsey are almost one-offs," said Bradley Wall, SSCV's Alpine program director, speaking before the Olympics. "So the idea of finding the next Mikaela or finding the next Lindsey, that's a tall order.

"We like to think that we put programming in place that will help any kid achieve their full potential, whether that's going to put them on an Olympic podium or... something a little less than that."

While Shiffrin specialises in Alpine skiing's 'technical' events -- 93 of her World Cup victories have come in slalom events -- Vonn seeks speed and has 45 wins in World Cup downhills.

Their distinctive strengths were quickly evident to their youth coaches and club-mates.

Shiffrin's first coach Simon Marsh, said at six she had the technique of a "20-year-old skier."

"It was just amazing watching Michaela, not just in the skiing but in her preparation. Everything was down to the T," said Marsh.

"She knew what she needed for every day and was always prepared for training, for a race, whatever."

- 'Calculated' and 'risky' -

Sarah Schleper, who, at 46, coaches at SSCV but is heading to her third Olympics representing Mexico after four on the US Team, befriended Vonn when the youngster joined the Vail club.

"She always wanted to be a downhill skier," said Schleper. "I was always like, why does she want to be a downhill? It's so scary.

"Lindsey's like a wild downhiller, and she will push to the limits. She'll crash. She's crashed a lot," said Schleper.

"Mikaela barely crashes. So she's a lot more calculated. Lindsey's a lot more risky."

She recalled a car ride with Vonn driving: "She's like, Sarah, watch! I can go down Vail Pass without touching the brakes. So she was always a daredevil."

But Vail's two champions were also similar.

"They both had very big goals," Schleper said. "They both knew that they wanted to be World Cup champions. They both wanted to win as many races as they possibly could, and they wrote it down very young."

Kjersti Moritz, at 21, is SSCV's next great hope and said she modelled her technique on Shiffrin.

"Mikaela is such a perfect skier, she was a really good visual. I think that really helped me progress."

After coming down from the mountain, the young skiers enjoy snacks in the SSCV premises, where memories of Vonn and Shiffrin adorn the walls.

"Back in our clubhouse in Vail, every time Mikaela or Lindsey or Sarah had a World Cup podium or great results, they'd put a big banner on the wall," said River Radamus, a 27-year-old member of the US team for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

"That was just the impulse for all of us to dream big."

- 'Wired to create champions' -

In 2014, the club's budget was around $8.5 million, which Schleper said allows it to recruit "high-quality coaches" from around the world.

But skiing is expensive.

Annual US club fees, Radamus said, are between $10,000 and $20,000 for under-16 skiers.

"That's too expensive," he said. "Growing up in a valley like this with such amazing mountains, it feels like an injustice to not even feel you could be a part of what the ski culture is here.

"We want to make sure that the best athletes rise to the top and it's not just the best athletes that have the resources."

But, said Schleper, the children learning at Vail have other advantages.

"We have the best training venue that I've ever been to.

"Everything's very wired to create champions."

T.Ibrahim--SF-PST