Mikaela Shiffrin

2022 - 2 - 11

Shiffrin

Post cover — Image courtesy of "Sierra Sun"

Mikaela Shiffrin gets confidence back in super-G (Sierra Sun)

Mikaela Shiffrin gets airborne during the women's super-G at the 2022 Winter Olympics on Friday in Beijing. Luca Bruno/AP.

A pattern of riders leading at the top of the course and then standing bewildered at the finish — having lost time to Puchner’s splits in the gliding canyon — quickly emerged. Despite fighting for seconds, the four-time Olympian couldn’t do enough at the bottom of the course, falling off the podium to finish seventh. Even though she has competed in only three of the super-G events this season, with a best finish of eighth, she posted a 1:13.94 to establish the early standard. Though visibly hungry for more, Shiffrin smiled and congratulated Lara Gut-Behrami in the leader’s chair at the bottom. Her time of 1:14.30 was 0.79 off the lead, good for ninth. Most importantly, the Alpine superstar appeared to renew her confidence and rhythm on the slopes, perhaps a more meaningful victory in the long run.

Mikaela Shiffrin Looks to Regain Her Confidence After Two Mistakes (The New York Times)

For the second time in three days at the Games, Shiffrin skied off course early in the race. The experience is shaking the two-time gold medalist to her ...

She took years to “learn to fly” — a term skiers use to describe the adjustment to high-speed, jump-infused speed events — and the treachery and danger of those races are not a natural fit with her personality. Through her highs and her lows, she lets the world see her emotions and does not hide her fears and insecurities. She questioned whether a teammate might be more deserving of a spot in the upcoming speed races. Though she has won a world championship in super-G and trained on the mountain Thursday, the speed events are not her specialty. Four years later in Pyeongchang, South Korea, she had begun to contend in the speed events. She has tried everything from meditation, music and visualization to doing word searches to clear her mind in the mountaintop warming tents right before a race. This is the third Olympic Games for Shiffrin, and the expectations, self-imposed and external, have grown each time. The experience is shaking the two-time gold medalist to her core as she gets ready for the super-G. “My whole intention building up this whole season since the summer was to ski these races aggressively,” she said, fighting back tears repeatedly. “Right now I would really like to call him,” she said. Her performance was the polar opposite of Shiffrin’s chief slalom rival, Petra Vhlova of Slovakia. After a shaky first run, Vhlova stormed back to take the gold medal, the first of her career, in 1 minute 44.98 seconds. Shiffrin could not even pass through the first section of a race.

Mikaela Shiffrin: Finishing Super-G Run a 'Big Relief' (NBC Sports)

Mikaela Shiffrin reflected on finishing her super-G run and all the support she's received through her struggles at the 2022 Winter Games.

It’s the one thing that makes a little bit of sense, that how I thought the trail was going to run, and how it might feel, was pretty much how it did, and I was able to handle it, which I was questioning a lot the last days. And I’m sorry for it, but I also was trying, and I’m proud of that.” And to Shiffrin, that’s actually been “the most surprising” aspect of her Olympic experience. It’s OK to say that, I am OK with that. “I would never have expected to feel in this moment, severely underperforming in Olympics, I would have never have felt that humans could be so kind. After that 10-plus-year streak came to an end, Shiffrin was left second-guessing her own skiing and racing mentality.

Mikaela Shiffrin Reveals 'Most Surprising Thing' About Olympics ... (NBC Chicago)

U.S. skiing star Mikaela Shiffrin offered her support to fellow athletes at the 2022 Winter Olympics who are dealing with the "striking hurt of defeat."

"Sending my love to those who are feeling that striking hurt of defeat," Shiffrin continued later in the post. "It's wonderful to train and compete alongside all of these courageous and incredible women, who have overcome so much in their life, just to get here," Shiffrin wrote. "It’s the most surprising thing of my Olympic experience -- how kind people have been in the face of my failure."

Mikaela Shiffrin still searching for 'belief' during downhill training (NBC Olympics)

The combined represents Shiffrin's best remaining chance at an individual medal at the 2022 Winter Games after a ninth place in the super-G and two shocking ...

Shiffrin said she's continuing to build back her confidence after the disappointing start to her Games. “I don’t really have a whole lot of belief… “If I can sort of keep up, then I would love to do the downhill. Shiffrin said the No. 1 factor in her decision will be the speed she’s able to find the course.

In an Olympics to forget, Mikaela Shiffrin gives us a lesson to ... (The Washington Post)

YANQING, China — Let's be clear about this much: When Mikaela Shiffrin stood with the glare bouncing off the snow beneath her Friday afternoon, ...

“But it doesn’t take away any hurt or disappointment from these races, and I think it’s possible to feel both proud of a career and sad for the moment you’re in.” The moment Mikaela Shiffrin is in is ongoing. Asked if she intended to ski in the women’s downhill, she said, “That’s the plan!” She has skied just two downhill races on the World Cup circuit this year. “After the last week, there’s been a lot of emotional fatigue, and I feel — yeah, I feel emotionally weary right now,” Shiffrin said. It would be easier to slip into “it is what it is” cliches, because sports fans have learned to expect those from athletes. At 26, she is some combination of unable and unwilling to distance herself from the reactions to her performances, both the headlines about crashing out and the keep-your-chin-up reaction on social media. Friday, she was more than three-quarters of a second behind the pace of gold medal winner Lara Gut-Behrami of Switzerland, just more than a half-second out of a spot for a medal. And it’s because, in assessing her performances, she not only opens the book about how she feels as this all plays out but then offers to turn the page and read aloud to you as the drama gets more intense. Not athletically, because Shiffrin is of course capable of far better — and not just in the two races she didn’t come close to finishing but in the super-G as well, though it’s far from a specialty. It’s because she expected to medal in Wednesday’s slalom and again made it just five gates. It’s because she expected to medal in Monday’s giant slalom and made it just five gates. YANQING, China — Let’s be clear about this much: When Mikaela Shiffrin stood with the glare bouncing off the snow beneath her Friday afternoon, she had no obligation — zero — to share her most honest evaluation of a stay here that has been, thus far, nothing short of distressing.

Mikaela Shiffrin relieved to finish 9th in Olympic super-G (Bangor Daily News)

She placed ninth behind winner Lara Gut-Behrami of Switzerland in a field of 44 ski racers.

When it was go time, Shiffrin actually started well enough, reaching the initial check point in 12.66 seconds — ahead of Gut-Behrami’s pace. But I also did get to the finish and that’s really nice for my heart to know,” she said, tapping her chest with fingers on her right hand, “that it’s not totally abandoning everything I thought I knew about the sport.” “It’s a really big relief to be here now in the finish, having skied a run well. Get a good feeling. Get a good run. Trying to keep some calmness and just trying to focus on the task at hand, so I could put my attention where I wanted and ski the hill and the course properly.” “But when we got out today, I just feel a little bit more settled. And it just kept happening: I skied out on the fifth gate. Who among us can’t relate to the concept of work-related anxiety? A little bit quieter. And I kept kind of waking up from it and then going back to sleep. Made her unclear on whether she was “up to the challenge,” to use her phrase.