Alpine skiing icon Mikaela Shiffrin remains highly driven yet grounded in her expectations as she readies herself for her fourth appearance at the Winter Olympics. The 30-year-old American athlete kicked off the 2025-26 World Cup season amid growing excitement for the upcoming Milan-Cortina 2026 Games.
Elite skiers from around the globe descended the Rettenbach Glacier in Sölden this past weekend to inaugurate the new season. With roughly three months until the Olympics in Italy, discussions about the event are already dominating conversations, overshadowing the immediate competitions.
Ahead lie nearly 30 women’s World Cup events, offering opportunities to chase prestigious seasonal championships. However, for many casual U.S. sports enthusiasts, the high-stakes, exhilarating, and risky world of alpine skiing often only captures attention during the February Winter Games.
U.S. skiers and fellow Olympians are frequently evaluated based on their showings during the intense 16-day Olympic period, rather than their consistent World Cup results – a reality Shiffrin understands deeply.
“The Olympics serve as a powerful stage to introduce our sport to a global audience and foster greater appreciation,” Shiffrin shared during a press conference in Sölden. “Yet, my experience with the Games highlights how viewers often jump in without fully appreciating the context or history behind the athletes.”
She continued, “It’s challenging to absorb the full scope of numerous competitors across various disciplines in such a condensed two-week span.”
Shiffrin has thrived under Olympic scrutiny in the past, claiming slalom gold at just 18 during the 2014 Sochi Games, followed by giant slalom gold and combined silver in PyeongChang 2018. Her performance at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, however, fell short of expectations; as a top contender, she did not complete three races and left without a medal in any of her six events.
“There’s immense pressure from the deep desire to excel for your nation, to honor your roots, loved ones, supporters, and the entire support network,” Shiffrin explained. “Falling short of those anticipated standards – though ‘consequences’ might not be the ideal term – makes it tough to navigate the resulting story while focusing on what truly matters as a competitor.”
With a record-breaking resume that includes 101 World Cup wins, three Olympic medals (including two golds), eight World Championship golds, and five overall World Cup crowns, Shiffrin stands as the most accomplished alpine skier ever, regardless of gender. Still, the poignant visuals of her in distress, head in hands after veering off course in Beijing, continue to resonate.
Though she has little to validate further, it’s evident that Shiffrin carries a strong resolve to secure medals in Milan-Cortina, aiming to overshadow the setbacks and scrutiny from four years prior.
In her 15th World Cup season opener, the seasoned American placed fourth in the giant slalom in Sölden, trailing Austrian victor Julia Schaub by 1.42 seconds. Her U.S. teammate Paula Moltzan achieved a personal best, securing second place in the event.
