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Mikaela Shiffrin has a lot to celebrate this Christmas.
The American skiing standout is off to a strong start in the Olympic slalom season, with four wins in four World Cup races. And she's regaining her form in other disciplines after two of the biggest setbacks of her career.
“So far this season, I've had the ability to execute top-level turns in those pressure moments,” Shiffrin said. “The world, when they watch, thinks there is no pressure because I am in the lead or I did it in the previous race, but every time I go to the start it is like a new situation and I have found a way so far. I have found a way to dig really deep to find quality skiing. But it's not easy. It takes so much effort.”
Shiffrin returns this weekend to the Austrian resort of Semmering, where she claimed seven of her record 105 World Cup victories. Shiffrin has achieved three wins in three days at Semmering twice, in 2016 and 2022.
There are only two races this season: the giant slalom on Saturday and the slalom on Sunday.
Giant Slalom and Super-G
Although Shiffrin has won a record 22 World Cup giant slalom events, she has not made the podium in the event since a horrific crash in Killington, Vermont, last season that left her with a deep puncture wound in her side and a serious injury to her obliques.
But Shiffrin has moved closer in giant slalom, finishing fourth twice this season, including in the final race in Tremblant, Que.
“It’s just going to take time,” she said. “I just want to keep improving or maybe repeat the slalom level.”
Shiffrin also recently competed in the super-G in St. Moritz, Switzerland, in her first speed event since a downhill crash in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, nearly two years ago. She was on her way to a strong finish until she missed the final gate.
However, it was progress towards her goal of possibly adding a super-G to her program at the upcoming Cortina Winter Olympics in Milan, where women's alpine skiing will be competed in Cortina.
“Even if it’s not the Olympics, super-G — my big goal is to get back to strong form at the world super-G championships,” Shiffrin said.
Gas pedal for slalom
In slalom, Shiffrin's form is so good that she was able to consistently win by a huge margin (average gap of 1.5 seconds) and quickly recover from mistakes.
It's quite a turnaround from the second half of last season, when Shiffrin struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder following a fall in Killington.
“Right now, I can feel when my momentum is off, and then in my mind it's like pedaling the gas,” she said of how she can pick up the pace mid-run.
Another win in slalom would give Shiffrin the best start to a season of her career in the discipline, having won her first five slaloms back in 2018-19.
Overall, Shiffrin has won five slaloms in a row, including last season's final race. Her longest winning streak is seven slaloms, which she has achieved twice.
Dream Team
Already the winner of two Olympic gold medals – slalom in 2014 and giant slalom in 2018 – Shiffrin could compete in four disciplines at the Cortina Olympics: slalom, giant slalom, super-G and the new team combined.
Shiffrin and her downhill teammate Breezy Johnson won gold in the team total at last season's world championships.
A team consists of one rider competing in the downhill, followed by a teammate competing in the slalom, with the times being added together to determine the results.
Lindsey Vonn unsuccessfully tried to make a team with Shiffrin at the World All-Around Championships, but now has a better chance of forming a ski “dream team” after her strong start this season at age 41.
