Colorado Olympian Mikaela Shiffrin’s Dad Passes Away Unexpectedly

Colorado Olympian Mikaela Shiffrin's dad has unfortunately passed away unexpectedly. Mikaela opened up about her family's heartbreak and the lessons her dad taught her.

Mikaela Shiffrin is from Vail and is one of the best skiers in the world. Both Mikaela and her brother are amazing skiers. She lives in Edwards with her family and unfortunately, she's shared some very sad news via Twitter. Mikaela's dad has passed away unexpectedly at the age of 65.

Her father died of a head injury and the cause of death was an accident, according to the Eagle County Coroner. Mikaela shared via Twitter:

My family is heartbroken beyond comprehension about the unexpected passing of my kindhearted, loving, caring, patient, wonderful father.

She goes on to say how he was her family's everything and how he taught them so many valuable lessons. She tweeted:

He taught us so many valuable lessons...but above everything else, he taught us the golden rule: be nice, think first. This is something I will carry with me forever. He was the firm foundation of our family and we miss him terribly.

Mikaela also tweeted a thank you for respecting her family's privacy during this 'imaginable and devasting time.'

Our thoughts are with Mikaela and her family during this hard time. Jeff Shifrin was also a skier. He traveled with his daughter to her races and was an avid photographer who loved to take pictures of her and her team according to Vail Daily. He was an anesthesiologist at Vail Health and Anethisea Partners of Colorado and helped a lot of skier and rider.

He brought Mikaela a memory foam mattress pad to Europe so she could sleep more comfortably -- needless to say, he loved both of his kids and was very proud of them.