Alpine World Ski Championships: Mikaela Shiffrin 'stronger than ever' mentally

Mikaela Shiffrin wins giant slalom World Championship gold

By Harry Poole
BBC Sport

Mikaela Shiffrin says she is mentally stronger than ever following a difficult period during which memory issues meant she would struggle to remember courses.

American Shiffrin will bid for her eighth world title in the slalom in Meribel on Saturday.

The 27-year-old's fine form in 2023 has also taken her to 85 World Cup victories - one behind the all-time record for men or women held by Swedish great Ingemar Stenmark.

It comes after she was forced to recover from what she describes as an invisible injury following the loss of her father in 2020.

"The last few years [have] been a process of coming back to ski racing after my dad passed, almost as if it was an injury, just not a visible one," said Shiffrin, speaking in a Ski Sunday interview to be shown on BBC Two on Sunday (18:15 GMT).

"In the past two seasons I had issues with my memory and I could not remember the courses. I could focus for one run but not the second. At the time I didn't know what was happening.

"This is the first season in which, mentally, I can handle a lot more, maybe better than I have in my whole career. I think I've become stronger as a person."

At the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022 Shiffrin arrived as one of the favourites, but she crashed out of her first two races and left the competition without a medal.

She says she struggled to cope with the pressure which followed her disappointments, along with the criticism she received on social media.

"The weight of the world came down on me after I failed," Shiffrin said.

"The Olympics was very, very challenging for me mentally. It didn't feel good to see people making super negative comments when they had no idea what was going on.

"I shouldn't care but I do. The people making these comments have absolutely no idea.

"Social media is a double-edged sword, it gives us the ability to connect but then it also gives people the ability to say what they want, when they want."

Getty Images

Shiffrin's giant slalom gold on Thursday came one day after she split with her coach of seven years Mike Day

This year, Shiffrin carried over her World Cup form to win her seventh world title, claiming her first giant slalom gold on Thursday.

It was a 13th world championship medal in all for the American, who won super-G silver last week after being unable failed to defend her world combined title.

That leaves her just two world medals behind German Christl Cranz's all-time record of 15, while again only Cranz (12) has won more world titles than Shiffrin.

"I started this season feeling like I have pressure but I feel so good about how I'm skiing," Shiffrin said.

"I feel pretty clear on what I do wrong when it's not as fast, and what I'm doing right when it is. It is a clarity I've almost never had before.

"The tricky part in races is trusting the preparation and trusting my instincts. When I do that it's such an unbelievable feeling. It's like I can react to anything."

On chasing records, she added: "I see the importance of the records. At the same time I don't like the phrase breaking a record.

"You can't break a record, you just continue it or reset it. It's not what has got me to this point and focusing on that is not going to allow me to do it."

You can watch the full interview on Ski Sunday from 18:15 GMT on BBC Two on Sunday. The slalom, which will see Shiffrin aim for her second gold in Meribel, will be streamed on Saturday, 18 February from 08:45 on Red Button, iPlayer, BBC Sport website and app.

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