You bet he would have!
Just a reminder: Mikaela was a student at Burke Mt. Ski Academy....founded by Olde Coach some 45 years ago. I knew nothing about skiing
prior to knowing Olde Coach but I learned a bit from his phone calls....often about Mikaela. He said as she grew older her expertise
would grow from the slalom to the giant slalom to the super G and finally perhaps to the downhill. He was thrilled with her wins
but even moreso with the kind of person she is.
I remember he told me of how he came to know of her. He was up at the academy for some function and an instructor called him into the office to take a look at a video of Shriffin...maybe when she was around 14.
Olde Coach went in to watch her do a slalom run at the academy and he said he immediately broke into tears....at the grand spectacle of technique and beauty combined
in one so young. I asked him if he was serious and he actually started to both laugh....and cry again at the memory.
Olympics 2018....Go Mikaela!