Mikaela Shiffrin, the undisputed greatest Alpine skier in World Cup history, steps into the start gate Wednesday for what could be the defining race of her legendary career at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
The 30-year-old American icon enters the women’s slalom—her signature event and the final Alpine discipline of these Games—as the overwhelming favorite, carrying a record nine slalom Crystal Globes, 71 career World Cup slalom victories (including seven this season), and an unshakeable dominance that has redefined the sport.
Yet the Olympic spotlight has been unforgiving. Shiffrin, who claimed gold in slalom as an 18-year-old phenom at Sochi 2014 and added giant slalom gold plus combined silver in PyeongChang 2018, has gone eight years without an Olympic medal. Beijing 2022 brought six starts and zero finishes on the podium; these Games have followed a similar script so far.
A disappointing team combined saw her post the 15th-fastest slalom leg out of 18, dropping her and teammate Breezy Johnson from gold contention to fourth. Then came Sunday’s giant slalom: Shiffrin finished 11th, just 0.30 seconds off the podium in a razor-tight field won by Italy’s Federica Brignone, with Sweden’s Sara Hector and Norway’s Thea Louise Stjernesund tying for silver in a rare historic moment.
Despite the result, Shiffrin emerged optimistic, calling it “the greatest show of giant slalom skiing that we’ve had in a really long time” and praising her adaptability after analyzing tape and training intensely post-combined setback. She pinpointed destabilizing factors like unstable snow and course setup that threw off her rhythm, vowing to handle similar challenges differently in slalom.
“No matter how many slalom runs I do, it never gets easier,” Shiffrin reflected. “It only gets like you become more aware of how challenging it is.” She emphasized turning nervousness into intensity, focusing on technical precision in the most unforgiving Alpine event—where one missed gate can end everything.
Shiffrin starts with bib 7, positioned perfectly among the top seeds. Her chief threats include:
Camille Rast (Switzerland, 26): The defending world champion, fresh off podiums in four of her last five World Cup slaloms, including a win over Shiffrin in January. She posted the third-fastest slalom time in the team combined.
Lara Colturi (Albania, 19): The prodigy with Junior World Championship gold, four World Cup podiums this season, and a pedigree from her mother’s 2002 Olympic Super-G title.
Wendy Holdener (Switzerland, 32): A five-time Olympic medalist with relentless pursuit of Shiffrin, boasting the second-fastest slalom leg in the team combined and skipping giant slalom to peak for this race.
Katharina Truppe (Austria, 30): Consistent top performer with Olympic team gold from 2022.
Team USA’s Paula Moltzan (fresh off combined bronze), Nina O’Brien, and AJ Hurt add depth to the American challenge.
First run kicks off at 4 a.m. ET (2 a.m. MST), with the second at 7:30 a.m. ET. Streams available on Peacock and NBCOlympics.com.
With the world watching, this is Shiffrin’s moment to rewrite the narrative. A medal—especially gold—would silence doubters, extend her legacy, and prove once more why she’s the GOAT. The stakes couldn’t be higher: legacy on the line, one run at a time.
