"Mic Drop"- Mikaela Shiffrin reacts to Roger Federer's graduation speech at Dartmouth College

Modified Jun 11, 2024 16:20 GMT

Mikaela Shiffrin was highly impressed with Roger Federer’s speech at Dartmouth College, where he shared his experiences with the outgoing batch. The alpine skiing legend is a huge fan of the tennis legend, and in addition to Sunday’s words of wisdom from the Swiss, she has previously claimed to have learned a lot from him.

Shiffrin has the most glorious career anyone in alpine skiing has ever had. She holds the record for the highest number of World Cup victories, 97. The next best is 86 wins from men's competition by Swedish legend Ingemar Stenmark.

The 29-year-old has won the overall title five times. Had it not been a month-long absence from the sport after injury in January this year, she would have already won the record-tying sixth title in 2023-24. The two-time Olympic champion is now gearing up for the 2024-25 season, scheduled to start later this year.

Just like Mikaela Shiffrin, Roger Federer is one of the greatest the tennis world has ever seen. The former World No.1 was invited to deliver a speech to the outgoing batch of Dartmouth College in Hanover and was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate.

Federer's speech, which lasted over thirty minutes, went viral online, eventually reaching one of his fans, Mikaela Shiffrin. The Olympic champion was highly impressed with the tennis legend’s words of wisdom. Sharing his speech on her Instagram story, Shiffrin wrote:

"Mic Drop @rogerfederer"

Shiffrin was majorly impressed with a part of the speech where Federer pointed out the importance of moving on in life.

"When you're playing a point, it has to be the most important thing in your life, but when it's behind you, it's behind you"

Roger Federer’s advice which has helped Mikaela Shiffrin a lot in her career

Mikaela Shiffrin had the opportunity to spend time with Roger Federer and his wife, Mirka. She was invited for lunch with the power couple, and later in a private chat with tennis legend, Shiffrin claimed to have learned a lot. Recalling her meeting with Federer and his wife, Shiffrin said (as quoted by Olympics.com):

"One of the most important things he learned in his career was how to kind of stop and take a moment and enjoy – kind of breathe in the most successful, wonderful moments just a little bit longer than you might have – because they're gonna go away.

He was like, 'You're not going to be successful every time. It just doesn't work that way. When you're disappointed, you're gonna think it's all over and you're never gonna get back to the top'".

Shiffrin added that she would carry Federer's advice with her for the rest of her life.

"'So when you're at the top, take a moment and breathe it in and then keep working.' So that's something I'm also carrying with me."

Despite a relatively low number of titles this season, Mikaela Shiffrin managed to win a slalom title, a record-tying eighth for her. Heading into the 2024-25 season, she will have her eyes set on the sixth overall title, and of course, a century of World Cup wins.

Who Are Roger Federer's Kids? Know All About Federer's Twins