David Letterman with Mikaela Schiffrin

[billski]

Since I'm not skiing today, dug up something pretty cool


Way to go Mikaela - Burke Mountain Academy - watch her at the US Nationals this weekend!

 

[bigbog]

She is terrific.
Pulled her record...since 10/11 season:
http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/613.h...orid=164835&type=result&rec_start=0&limit=100

 

[BenedictGomez]

Jeez, couldn't CBS have shown a clip of her skiing?

 

[TheBEast]

She's awesome...also on the Today show this morning. It will be fun to watch her develop. US women's skiing is kicking some serious A$$.

 

[BenedictGomez]

She looks like a buff Taylor Swift.

 

[riverc0il]

Pretty cool she is still aw shucks about the whole thing. Figured she would have had enough media attention and spotlight by now to be just a touch less self-effacing. I think it is pretty damn cool for someone to achieve at that level and keep it that down to earth. Good on ya, Schiffrin. Keep it about the skiing.

 

[from_the_NEK]

Watching her I keeps reminding me of Missy Franklin (teen swimmer from the summer olympics). Both are very down to earth but look to be ready to dominate their sports for the foreseable future.

 

[Euler]

What's up with the audience bursting into laughter when she says she attends high school at Burke Mtn Academy?

 

[drjeff]

Watching her I keeps reminding me of Missy Franklin (teen swimmer from the summer olympics). Both are very down to earth but look to be ready to dominate their sports for the foreseable future.

I'm guessing with both of those young female athelte's that you mentioned, their parents are probably just as proud, maybe even more proud about the personable, respectful young women that they've become as they are of their athletic accomplishments. Big kudo's to their parents for raising some great kids!

BTW, with Missy Franklin, while I was in Colorado a few weeks ago, the local Denver TV station had an interview with her as she was Emcee'ing a large charity dinner for I believe Make a Wish of Colorado. She seemed just as humble as ever and was getting a bit choked up with talking about both Make a Wish and also the fact that just a few days before she had swum in her last high school meet with many of her childhood friends

 

[timm]

What's up with the audience bursting into laughter when she says she attends high school at Burke Mtn Academy?

I assume it was laughter at the fact that she is still in high school.

I wonder what % of BMA students are scholarship -- tuition is pretty insane.

 

[BenedictGomez]

What's up with the audience bursting into laughter when she says she attends high school at Burke Mtn Academy?

I assume it was laughter at the fact that she is still in high school.

No; they're laughing at the fact that there's such a thing as a "ski academy".

 

[Abubob]

What's up with the audience bursting into laughter when she says she attends high school at Burke Mtn Academy?

I'm not sure but I think its because she said "ski academy" first so it just sounded like she just skis through High School. So the audience just laughs thinking, "Yeah - Ski High School - of course". Doesn't lessen the accomplishment in my mind but it does show that to compete at a world level you have to "live" ski racing from the time you're two and that means going to "Ski High School".

Quote from the 2003 NY Times article:

Virtually all of the American medal winners in snow-sport disciplines at the 2002 Olympics and this year's world championships are ski academy graduates.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/16/s...s-at-ski-academies.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm

 

[BenedictGomez]

it does show that to compete at a world level you have to "live" ski racing from the time you're two and that means going to "Ski High School".

Kind of sad actually. Similar thing in tennis. I believe in the last 20 years, about a dozen tennis #1s came from Nick Bollettieri's acadamy, including household names like Agassi, Seles, Courier, Sharipova, Capriati, etc...

 

[Abominable]

All my time at the Suburban Cubicle Academy has definitely paid off then.

 

[timm]

All my time at the Suburban Cubicle Academy has definitely paid off then.