Sports
With World Cup in her backyard, Mikaela Shiffrin and Aleksander Kilde — skiing’s golden couple — focus on recovery
This wasn’t the way alpine skiing aficionados drew it up when they scheduled men’s and women’s speed races on the famed Birds of Prey course in Beaver Creek, Colo., on back-to-back weekends this month.
They figured the events held major potential for a celebration of the sport’s golden couple: American Mikaela Shiffrin, who might be closing in on her record 100th World Cup win, and her fiancé, Aleksander Aamodt Kilde of Norway, arguably the best speed skier in the world, both making the podium just a few miles from Shiffrin’s home down the road in Edwards.
That was Plan A. Not happening as Kilde announced in October he’d miss the entire World Cup season due to injuries sustained in a January crash.
On the bright side, Shiffrin is up on her feet and walking again after a crash of her own over Thanksgiving weekend in a World Cup giant slalom race in Vermont that left her banged and cut up and with a significant puncture wound in her abdomen. She is sidelined indefinitely, though she expects to be back before too long. Last weekend, she shot a video while walking carefully outside her home.
“I got my trusty little wound vacuum, we got it put in yesterday,” she said, showing off the gadget that can accelerate healing by decreasing air pressure over a wound, pulling out fluid and dead tissue and reducing swelling. “This is where I’m at,” she added with a look of reluctant acceptance as she stepped gingerly on an icy mountain street.
An update from Mikaela Shiffrin about her injury from the Killington World Cup race. pic.twitter.com/jTUIqyeZ12
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) December 7, 2024
Shiffrin’s latest injury also killed Plan B, which was for Kilde, who has spent nearly a year recovering from the major crash 11 months ago in Switzerland, to help coach Shiffrin this weekend on Beaver Creek’s Birds of Prey track — where he won three years ago and where she had never competed. Instead, he’s been coaching her in the art of patience and recovery.
Kilde has had to become an expert in that, unfortunately. The January crash wrecked his left shoulder, ripping muscles from the joint. It also left a deep gash in his right calf, courtesy of one of his skis. Then, in July, out of nowhere, an infection raged through his surgically repaired shoulder. He was on the edge of sepsis, a potentially life-threatening condition that occurs when the body’s immune system overreacts to an infection, damaging the body’s tissues and organs.
His heart racing, his shoulder swelling, his fever spiking, he went to the emergency room during a visit with Shiffrin in Colorado. Doctors took one look at him and told him he wasn’t going anywhere for a while.
There are few sports that test an athlete’s ability to manage injuries the way alpine skiing does. It has basically a 100 percent injury rate. So many of its top performers have missed full seasons or more to recover from ghastly bone breaks, torn ligaments, ruptured joints, concussions and everything else that can happen during high-speed crashes on ice while clamped into long, sharp-edged carbon boards. Skiers are good at doing the thumbs-up Instagram post from their hospital bed, but recovery and rehabilitation is anything but a happy process.
Shiffrin, 29, has been pretty lucky so far during her storied career, though last season she missed six weeks while recovering from damage to her knee ligaments that she suffered during a downhill race on the Olympia delle Tofane course in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, where the 2026 women’s Olympic competition will take place. She returned in time to capture another season slalom title, but the experience taxed her brain as much as her body.
“When you’re injured, whether it’s for nine months or eight weeks, you’re watching the world carry on without you being in a space where you are supposed to be, and that’s frustrating,” she said during an interview this fall before the start of the season. “There are so many moments of doubt when you feel pain or weakness, when it’s like, ‘I don’t know that I can do that.’”
Mikaela Shiffrin was seeking her 100th World Cup event win in Killington, Vermont, when she crashed and suffered an injury. (Sarah Stier / Getty Images)
That’s basically been Kilde’s life since his January crash.
The damage to both his shoulder and his leg left him wheelchair-bound for weeks, since he couldn’t use crutches. Kilde has been called “the Arnold Schwarzenegger of skiing” for his strength. His being too weak to get out of a wheelchair is a difficult image to conjure.
The gash in his calf severed nerves. For months, he could not make his foot and toes move the way he wanted them to. Sometimes his toes would just hang like appendages. Only in late spring did he begin to think that his foot would eventually work properly again, though he still hasn’t regained much feeling in the toes.
For months he felt like he had no purpose in his life.
“You lose your job and you’re injured, you can’t even do anything,” he said. “I can’t work on my shoulder which needed to be worked on. I can’t work on my leg which needed to be worked on. I can’t even be in the sun because of antibiotics. I had to be indoors. Just a really, really boring life, honestly.”
A few weeks in, he realized he needed to find a reason to get out of bed in the morning, especially since this recovery was going to take a while. So he looked into finding some way to stimulate his mind.
Kilde may be a two-time Olympic medalist with 48 World Cup podiums, but by some measures he is the black sheep of his very educated family. His father is an engineer. His mother is a nurse. His brother is a finance executive. He has a high school education, and for the last couple of years, he has largely focused on being outdoors and his athletic career. It had been a long time since he had to study. And even longer since he was interested in studying.
Aleksander Kilde gets evacuated by helicopter after a crash at a World Cup event in Wengen, Switzerland, in January. He’s still recovering. (Marco Bertorello / AFP via Getty Images)
He does have an interest in real estate, though. So he signed up for an eight-week online course in real estate and finance through the London School of Economics. There were a series of modules to complete each week, plus assignments and tasks, a final project and a certificate at the end.
The course description said the work would take up roughly 10 hours each week. He said it took him at least 20. He hadn’t worked with mathematical formulas in 15 years.
He said he learned plenty about his investments, but more than that, he learned something about himself.
“Reading and learning is really something that can give you a lot of energy,” he said. “I never thought of it like that before. I felt like I didn’t need it. But I think now, just always strive to learn. It’s really something that is good for you. Not only for your mental capacity but also for your mental health. It’s very nice to know things.”
It will be nice to ski again, too. He’s been cleared to get back on snow, but just for free skiing. He can’t go fast. He can’t crash. He needs another operation on his shoulder since doctors had to remove a lot of the work that had been done when they were trying to rid his body of the infection.
The next surgery will be the one that will make a comeback possible. For now, he can basically live a normal life. He just can’t ski race. To set himself up for that, he’s been paying close attention to his diet, cutting out alcohol and most sugar, making sure to eat quality meats and other proteins, biding his time for the opportunity to be able to do the thing that he has dedicated most of his life to. And if he needs his speed rush, he’s got a nice Audi that can go from zero to 60 pretty fast.
“And that’s fine,” he said.
His fiancée still has to work on her patience as she manages through her latest injury. She can be a little less zen than him at times, especially when she is on the sidelines, waiting to be healthy enough to get back into the starting hut at the top of the hill.
Then again, this one’s a little different.
“I’ve been impaled,” she announced in a video she posted on social media days after her crash.
You don’t get to say that every day. Not even when you’re an alpine skier.
GO DEEPER
Lindsey Vonn, at 40, returns to competitive skiing, earns World Cup eligibility
(Top photo of Aleksander Kilde and Mikaela Shiffrin: Alain Grosclaude / Agence Zoom / Getty Images)
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The highly anticipated 30th WNBA season tipped off Friday with three games, including the expansion Toronto Tempo’s first-ever contest.
The action continued Saturday with a full slate, including Caitlin Clark’s return after an injury-riddled sophomore season.
Clark and the Indiana Fever hosted the Dallas Wings on Saturday afternoon in a matchup featuring the four most recent No. 1 overall picks. The Wings outlasted the Fever 107-104, but the game was defined by Azzi Fudd’s — the most recent top pick — underwhelming debut.
Dallas Wings guards Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers react during the first half of the Fever’s season opener at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on May 9, 2026. (Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
Fudd played 18 minutes off the bench, scoring three points — the lowest ever by a No. 1 overall pick in a WNBA debut.
Wings coach Jose Fernandez addressed Fudd’s performance after the game, encouraging the rookie to, “Keep doing what she’s doing, it’s her first year in the league. We got five really talented backcourt players.”
EX-WNBA STAR CRITICAL OF SKY ROOKIE HAILEY VAN LITH, BELIEVES POPULARITY PLAYED ROLE IN DRAFT SELECTION
In addition to Fudd, Dallas’ backcourt features last year’s top draft pick Paige Bueckers, last season’s No. 12 overall pick Aziaha James, four-time All-Star Arike Ogunbowale and starting guard Odyssey Sims.
Until Saturday, Kelsey Plum held the record for the lowest-scoring debut by a No. 1 pick. Selected first overall by the then-San Antonio Stars in 2017, she scored just four points in her debut. The Stars relocated to Las Vegas in 2018 and was subsequently rebranded as the Aces.
Dallas Wings guard Azzi Fudd warms up before the game against the Indiana Fever at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, on May 9, 2026. (Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
Despite the slow start to her first season in the league, Plum ended the year with All-Rookie team honors. In the years since, she’s been named to four All-Star teams and won two championships with the Aces.
The Wings’ decision to take Fudd with the No. 1 overall pick drew controversy, raising questions about whether Bueckers’ personal relationship with her influenced the selection. Late last month, Bueckers said last month it did not.
Azzi Fudd poses with WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert after being selected first overall by the Dallas Wings during the 2026 WNBA Draft at The Shed in New York City on April 13, 2026. (Angelina Katsanis/Getty Images)
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“Azzi Fudd was the No. 1 draft pick because she earned it, and it had nothing to do with me and everything to do with who she is as a human being, who she is as a basketball player,” Bueckers said, according to ESPN.
Neither Bueckers nor Fudd has publicly updated their relationship status since the April draft.
“Quite frankly, I believe me and Azzi’s personal relationship is nobody’s business but our own,” Bueckers also said in April. “And what we choose to share is completely up to us.”
Next up, the Wings play their home opener on Tuesday when they host the Atlanta Dream.
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The Lakers are one playoff defeat from their season being over and from the conversation turning to LeBron James’ future.
They are in a hole no team has climbed out of in the history of the NBA, the Lakers’ 131-108 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3 putting L.A. down 3-0 in the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series.
James and his teammates gave a gallant effort Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena, but the defending champion proved to be more than the Lakers could handle.
James finished his night with 19 points on seven-for-19 shooting, eight assists and six rebounds. Rui Hachimura had 21 points and Austin Reaves finished with 17 points and nine assists.
Even so, the Lakers have now lost all three games by double digits.
And the Lakers are fully aware that no NBA team has successfully come back from a 3-0 deficit in the playoffs, with those teams holding a 161-0 record. Only four teams have forced a Game 7 after trailing 3-0, all of which ultimately lost the series, including the Boston Celtics in 2023.
Lakers forward LeBron James shows frustration as Thunder center Chet Holmgren slam dunks during Game 3 on Saturday night.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Game 4 is Monday night, when the Lakers will try to stave off elimination and a night that will determine how the conversations go with James if they lose.
James has been frequently asked this season about retirement, but he has not given any indication of what the future holds for him.
He’s 41 years old and playing in an NBA-record 23rd season.
James is in the final year of his contract that pays him $52 million, making him a free agent this offseason. He can retire, join another team or perhaps return to the Lakers next season.
That will be the conversation if the Lakers can’t win Game 4.
They will see the same Thunder team that had seven players score in double figures, led by Ajay Mitchell’s 24 points and 10 assists and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 23 points and nine assists.
The Lakers went down 13 in the third quarter and had to play catchup the rest of the way. They never did, going down by 112-94 with 6 minutes and 12 seconds left, forcing Lakers coach JJ Redick to call a timeout.
The deficit just kept growing, topping out at 27 points in the fourth.
They were outscored 33-20 in the third quarter. The Lakers didn’t take care of the basketball in the third, turning it over six times, and they didn’t play good defense, allowing the Thunder to shoot 59.1% from the field and 55.6 percent from three-point range,
The Lakers did not give an inch to the Thunder in the first half, even when they fell behind by 10 points.
They just kept grinding until they led 59-57 at halftime.
Hachimura had 16 points in the first half, continuing his hot three-point shooting by making all four of his threes. Luke Kennard came off the bench to give the Lakers 13 points, shooting five for six from the field and three for four from three-point range.
The Lakers kept the pressure defense on Gilgeous-Alexander. Though he had 14 points in the first half, he shot only four for 14 from the field and one for five from three-point range.
The Lakers shot 55% from three-point range in the first half, which went a long way in helping them.
The Lakers lost the first two games by identical margins of 18 points and each loss was magnified because Gilgeous-Alexander was kept under wraps for the most part by L.A.’s defense.
When Gilgeous-Alexander picked up his fourth foul with 10:34 left in the third quarter of Game 2 and went to the bench, the Thunder turned a five-point lead into a 13-point advantage at the end of the quarter.
So, when he wasn’t on the court, the Lakers failed to take advantage.
“Well, you know, again, I’ll repeat what I said after the game: we’ve got to be better in the non-Shai minutes,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said.
Role players like Mitchell and Jared McCain hurt the Lakers in the second game. Chet Holmgren also was hard to deal with.
“Mitchell and McCain have hurt us in those non-Shai minutes, and then Chet [Holmgren] has hurt us the whole game,” Redick said. “I think you’ve got to be willing to live with something. Shai playing one-on-one, thus far in the series, we haven’t been willing to live with, so you’re going to be in rotation. That can lead to smalls on bigs at the hole, and the offensive rebounding from Chet has really hurt us.”
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In 2025, Alex Palou kicked off the Month of May with a Sonsio Grand Prix win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
Based on the odds, it’s likely that Palou will find himself in Winner’s Circle again this Saturday when INDYCAR goes back to IMS on May 9 (4:30 p.m. ET, FOX).
Considering Palou has already captured the checkered flag three times this season, are there any other drivers whose odds are worth a wager?
Here are the latest lines at DraftKings Sportsbook as of May 9.
This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX Sports may be compensated. Read more about Sports Betting on FOX Sports.
Sonsio Grand Prix 2026
Àlex Palou: 5/18 (bet $10 to win $12.78 total)
Kyle Kirkwood: 5/1 (bet $10 to win $60 total)
Pato O’Ward: 12/1 (bet $10 to win $130 total)
David Malukas: 14/1 (bet $10 to win $150 total)
Josef Newgarden: 16/1 (bet $10 to win $170 total)
Scott McLaughlin: 20/1 (bet $10 to win $210 total)
Christian Lundgaard: 30/1 (bet $10 to win $310 total)
Scott Dixon: 40/1 (bet $10 to win $410 total)
Will Power: 60/1 (bet $10 to win $610 total)
Felix Rosenqvist: 80/1 (bet $10 to win $810 total)
Alexander Rossi: 100/1 (bet $10 to win $1,010 total)
Marcus Ericsson: 100/1 (bet $10 to win $1,010 total)
Marcus Armstrong: 100/1 (bet $10 to win $1,010 total)
Christian Rasmussen: 150/1 (bet $10 to win $1,510 total)
Graham Rahal: 150/1 (bet $10 to win $1,510 total)
Louis Foster: 300/1 (bet $10 to win $3,010 total)
Dennis Hauger: 500/1 (bet $10 to win $5,010 total)
Romain Grosjean: 500/1 (bet $10 to win $5,010 total)
Santino Ferrucci: 500/1 (bet $10 to win $5,010 total)
Rinus Veekay: 500/1 (bet $10 to win $5,010 total)
Kyffin Simpson: 500/1 (bet $10 to win $5,010 total)
Caio Collet: 1000/1 (bet $10 to win $10,010 total)
Sting Ray Robb: 1000/1 (bet $10 to win $10,010 total)
Nolan Siegel: 1000/1 (bet $10 to win $10,010 total)
Mick Schumacher: 1000/1 (bet $10 to win $10,010 total)
Here’s what to know about the oddsboard:
Heavy Favorite: It doesn’t look like Alex Palou’s dominance will be slowing down anytime soon. As noted above, he’s already won three of the five races since the INDYCAR season started in March. With 186 laps led, Palou sits first in the standings and has the shortest odds to win the title again. Last season, he started from the pole and led 29 laps before winning the race.
Long Shot to Watch: While his odds of 150/1 to win at IMS are much longer than Palou’s, Graham Rahal is one to watch. At this race in 2025, he started second and led 49 laps before finishing sixth. He finished second at this course in 2015, 2020 and 2023. He’s currently 10th in the INDYCAR standings, with one top five and three top 10s.
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