With the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics underway, alpine skiing superstar Mikaela Shiffrin is channeling her unmatched experience and unbreakable resilience as she prepares for her fourth Olympic appearance. The record-holding athlete, already the winningest in World Cup history with over 100 victories, two Olympic golds, and six world championship titles, is back on the slopes after overcoming a serious crash and its lingering mental challenges.
Shiffrin, now 30, endured a disappointing 2022 Beijing Games where she failed to medal across six events. Her pursuit of a historic 100th World Cup win hit a major setback when she struck a gate at Killington, Vermont, suffering a deep puncture wound to her abdomen that required surgery and months of recovery. The incident triggered PTSD-like flashes—”scary memories” that resurfaced every time she approached the start gate.
“I have those scary PTSD flashes of crashing,” Shiffrin shared. “Every time I get in the start gate, I’ll have these flashes—almost like a memory.” She described the intrusive thoughts as part of post-traumatic stress, adding that proving to herself that high-speed skiing doesn’t always end in disaster has been key to her mental recovery.
Defying the odds, Shiffrin returned just three months later to claim her milestone 100th World Cup victory in slalom at Sestriere, Italy, followed by additional wins, including one in front of a home crowd at Copper Mountain. Reflecting on the achievement, she noted the emotional weight: “I don’t think [my late father] would’ve ever thought that I’d get to 100. He’d probably be like, ‘Time to be done,’ but I’m not done yet.”
Training rigorously in Avon, Colorado, Shiffrin and her team continue to “reinvent the wheel” each season, emphasizing strength, conditioning, and the courage to “dive into that speed and go head-first into the vortex.” Familiarity with Italy’s terrain and logistics gives her an edge, as she knows the lay of the land for venues like Cortina.
For these Games, Shiffrin has strategically narrowed her focus to three events—slalom, giant slalom, and team combined—compared to the six she entered in Beijing. U.S. head coach Paul Kristofic believes this streamlined approach will benefit her performance, allowing her to concentrate on her strongest disciplines where she has dominated for years.
Shiffrin is racing on her own terms, determined to embrace the moment and add to her legacy. “Take a look inward and say, ‘Wow, OK, this is real. This happened. This is now part of written history.’ That’s a pretty special moment,” she reflected.
As one of the most decorated skiers ever—inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame while still active—Shiffrin arrives in Italy not just to compete, but to prove that setbacks, fear, and doubt can fuel greatness. With slalom and giant slalom events on the horizon in Cortina, the skiing world is watching to see if her resilience translates into more Olympic glory.
