Mikaela Shiffrin has described the moments before her Olympic slalom victory as an “almost out-of-body experience.” Speaking recently, she recalled standing at the start gate in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, on February 18. She watched Lena Duerr, the German skier ahead of her, ski out early.
Shiffrin’s thoughts flashed back to her own disappointing experience at the 2022 Beijing Games when she also skied out early. However, she returned to the present, feeling the support of her team and family as she prepared to leave the gate.
Overcoming Fears and Finding Support
Shiffrin admitted her “biggest fear going into the Games was that I would feel really isolated and alone.” Instead, she said her team and family made her feel very supported and together.
She added, “In that moment of the second run of the slalom, it felt like they were skiing it with me, really. So I think about my dad (Jeff, who died in 2020), and I feel like that would be something he was really proud of, too, thinking about the right things in the right moment.”
From Olympic Gold to World Cup Glory
Shiffrin’s recent trip to New York City for a media tour followed a successful winter season in Europe. She secured her third Olympic gold medal last month. She also clinched her sixth World Cup overall title last week, earning the crystal globe trophy for her season-long performance from October to March.
After winning a World Cup slalom in Copper Mountain, Colorado, on November 30, Shiffrin competed in several locations. These included Canada, Switzerland, France, Austria, Slovenia, Czechia, Sweden and Norway for the World Cup Finals.
Vindication After Beijing
Shiffrin was asked if her slalom gold in Cortina felt like “complete vindication” after failing to win a medal in six races at the 2022 Beijing Games.
“I guess there is a little bit of everything,” Shiffrin said. “Cortina felt so much its own. It felt so separate from Beijing. But at the same time, there was, for sure, a bit of an external narrative about sort of the ghosts of Beijing and a curse and all this. I really do internalize all that. I see it, and I take it in, and I think, what if there is a curse?”
Shiffrin mentioned working with her psychologist during the Milan Cortina Games about “thinking logically.”
“Cortina felt like entirely its own entity, which it did, and to the point maybe too much, because right now it almost feels like it didn’t happen,” she said. “It’s crazy. We had so much racing afterwards. We had the rest of the World Cup season. So I just got back to the U.S., like two days ago from Norway. I don’t know where I am right now.”
Future Plans
Shiffrin, who turned 31 on March 13, intends to continue competing at least through next season. She has the opportunity to surpass Annemarie Moser-Pröll, the Austrian legend from the 1970s, for the most women’s World Cup overall titles. Both currently hold six titles.
How much longer Shiffrin continues to ski beyond next season is uncertain.