Alpine Skiing - FIS Alpine Ski World Cup - Women's Downhill - Saalbach, Austria - March 23, 2024 Norway's Aleksander Aamodt Kilde and partner Michaela Shiffrin of the U.S. during the women's downhill REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/File Photo
(Reuters) - Double Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin and Aleksander Aamodt Kilde of Norway have announced their engagement.
The Alpine skiing pair posted photos on social media of a beaming Shiffrin showing off a ring. Kilde, who is recovering from a January crash that cut his season short, said it was too early to say when the wedding day would be.
"It will probably come when we have settled down, so it will probably be a few more years," the 31-year-old added.
The two confirmed their relationship in May 2021.
American Shiffrin won her 97th World Cup victory last month to extend her record haul and further cement her place as the greatest Alpine skier of all time.
Speed specialist Kilde, who was the men's overall World Cup champion in 2020, was airlifted off the course in Wengen after suffering a deep cut into his right calf and a dislocated right shoulder in the crash a downhill race.
A banged up but smiling Kilde posted a photo of Shiffrin by his bedside soon after the crash.
"It is during tough periods that you realize who loves you and cares for you," Kilde told Nettavisen.
Shiffrin, 29, injured her knee in a crash in Italy in late January but returned six weeks later to clinch her eighth slalom Crystal Globe, bringing her overall tally to 16.
Last year, Shiffrin was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the 'Pioneer' category and won her first ESPY for 'Best Athlete – Women's Sports.'
Kilde was by her side at the black tie events celebrating her achievements.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles and Tommy Lund in Gdansk; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
