From child prodigy to legend: Mikaela Shiffrin’s journey to 100 World Cup victories

When you won the Topolino slalom in 2010, you beat the field by more than three seconds. How did you manage that exactly?

I was definitely really excited about the slalom this year. I kind of figured out something with slalom and rhythm, like I said. When I ski, I refer to rhythm as tempo, and I hear the gates of the slalom hitting the snow and my pole protectors, and I can kind of feel the rhythm as I ski and by how fast I hit the gates I can almost tell you how fast I’m driving. Something about focusing on that pace almost slows it down for me and allows me to still be fast but not feel like I’m losing control at all. Three seconds is a lot in ski racing, but when you break it down to each gate, it’s not a lot. So my competitors weren’t that far behind. The runner-up and all the girls were right there with me. Three seconds sounds like a lot, but in reality it wasn’t that far behind.

You’ve been compared to racers like Lindsay Vonn, Julia Mancuso and Lara Gut because you were such a promising skier at such a young age. How do you feel about that?

It makes me smile and then I have to step back and say, “Well, I’m not there yet.” They were at that point when they were my age, but now they’re still at that point at their age Great. I’m stating the obvious (she says with a laugh), but I’m right! I still have a long way to go and I hope I can stay on the right path, but there are no guarantees. That’s why I always try to protect myself from any outside talk that I’m the next Lindsey Vonn, because first of all, I don’t want to be the next Lindsey Vonn, I want her to always be able to say, “I was Lindsey Vonn,” and Maybe one day I can say, “I was Mikaela Shiffrin,” and people will know who that was. But mostly I just stick with skiing and what I know because I have no idea what’s going to happen this year since I’ve never been in this situation before. I just have to remember why I’m doing it and not get caught up in the question, “Am I the next Lindsey Vonn or Julia Mancuso?” or whatever it is. I just have to stay focused.

Did you get any advice from Lindsey and Julia?

Not really advice, but they were both super great and offered to help me if I needed help or had any questions. At the World Cup last season in Spindleruv I didn’t really want to ask her anything because I really didn’t want to bother her. It’s one of the big races of the season because it comes at the end of the year and they were under pressure to perform well. Lindsey was fighting for the overall and Julia was fighting for the GS title and they were always trying to win, so I didn’t really want to be a little girl that kept asking questions, I just wanted to watch them from afar. Nevertheless, they helped me a lot, even without saying anything. The way they act when skiing and their attitude, they’re always smiling and doing their best and always trying, always trying to win.

Last March you dipped your toes in the World Cup swimming pool in Spindleruv Mlyn. Will you be racing in the World Cup again this year?

Yes, I’ll do some World Cups and some Nor Ams and probably some European Cups as well, but I think mostly World Cups, but we’ll see as we get closer to the season.

Can you imagine racing speed events on the World Cup circuit in the not too distant future?

I love speed, definitely I love speed, but I don’t have much experience with it, so it’s kind of a death wish to go to the World Cup circuit and think I can do super-G or downhill. I need a lot more experience on easier speed courses just to get a handle on everything, especially mastering jumping. I’ve done speed before, I’m not afraid of speed, I love being fast but I like it more. I’m more into technical events because they have more of the rhythm that I like. So I think for now I’ll just try to stick to the technical events. I would like to become an all-round skier, but maybe not in the first few years.

Does a teenager who skis like an adult still have time to be a teenager? What is life like for you when you’re not racing or training?

During the summer I’m either at ski camp or at home, training and doing school work because I’m trying to make progress on next year’s school work. It’s hard to say whether I live a normal teenage life or not because I’ve never really known anything else, and that suits me just fine because I’m not a particularly social person. I can talk to all my friends and people I know, but when I only meet someone face to face, I completely freeze and can’t get any words out (she laughs!). I have a great life. I can’t complain, but I can’t say if it’s normal or not.

I heard your favorite TV show is Glee. Do you watch it quietly or sing along?

I watch quietly, but then I sing the songs afterwards (she laughs). I’m amazed because all the music on Glee suits my taste. Radios don’t always play to my taste, my own music doesn’t always play to my taste. Having a show where I like every single song makes it that much better.

I read an article about you where you were described as mature, humble, thoughtful, calm and down to earth. How do you feel when you hear that?

It makes me happy when people tell me I’m humble. It makes me feel like there is something to be humble about, which always makes me smile. It also makes me want to be more humble. I just want to stay calm and humble.

The terms “phenomenon” and “prodigy” are often used to describe you. How do you feel about that?

I honestly don’t know what to think. Things that have never been done before and all that stuff, I just try not to think about it. There’s always a first for everything and I think I’m just trying to be the first in this area and hopefully it will inspire other athletes to try to be the first at something. My goal is to distribute the wealth in a way that says, “Look, I did it, you can do it too!”

Is it hard to stay grounded when you hear something like that?

In a way it is, but there are definitely times when my friends or my parents tell me, “Mikaela, you’re getting a little off track.” Then I’m like, “Whoa, whoa, you’re right, you are.” That’s right!” So ​​I do some core training or something and try to get back to basics and simplify my life. It’s funny because almost every aspect of my life is reflected in skiing. My J3s coach, Kirk Dwyer, always said to me, “You’re trying too hard, you just have to feel it.” Simplify. Always look for the easiest way down the mountain because it’s the fastest if you do the right things in an easy way.” That’s why I try to keep my life as simple as possible because it’s easier that way outside of skiing to be successful. I don’t bring any extra drama or anything like that, but there are always moments where I start to smile a little too much because I won a race and my parents tell me, “Look, you’re over it and you’ve got it.” a lot of it.” There’s a lot of work ahead of you, so get back to focusing on your goals.”

I read an article about you by a psychologist named Dr. Jim Taylor wrote, and he said the warning signs he usually associated with phenomena were fear of failure and perfectionism… but he didn’t think those were traits that applied to you. Do you agree? Have you ever been afraid of failure or considered yourself a perfectionist?

When I ski, I’m not afraid of failure. I don’t really want to be ridiculous, but skiing is something I know by heart, and failure isn’t really a concept for me, nor should it be a concept for any skier, because when you’re out there, you’re doing something you love . So how can you fail at it if you love it? But if I’m doing something new, like playing squash or something, I would definitely take it easy and probably act like an idiot because that’s my way out if I don’t know how to do something. I always try to do well in whatever sport I play or in school. I’ll definitely try new things and do my best, make mistakes and not worry about them and laugh with people when I do something stupid. So I don’t think I’m a perfectionist because I’m not afraid to try new things even if I’m not good at them.

You won bronze in slalom at the Junior World Championships, what was that experience like?

I wasn’t really upset because I was still pretty nauseous. I skipped the GS because I was throwing up all night. For some reason flu viruses always find me. The day before I felt terrible and then that night I pretty much dreamed about throwing up on the slalom course and then I said, “This has to stop, there’s no way I’m missing the slalom because I I did it.’ I do that!” Then came I got to the top at the start and the route was really steep and there wasn’t a lot of terrain so it wasn’t like a roller coaster ride which was good for the nausea. I looked down, saw the finish and said, “I don’t think I can get down there!” So I just tried to go as fast as I could, get out of the finish and go to the bathroom so I could get back in am security. I think it was fast enough. I just tried to stay calm all day (she says with a laugh).

You won your first national title in slalom this year, how did that feel?

This day was crazy! I broke a boot buckle while training and it just flew off. I rode reasonably well on the training route, I was feeling a bit uncomfortable but that didn’t really worry me, but then I noticed I didn’t have a shoe buckle! Then we pulled a buckle from the boot of a friend who was nearby and used it to attach it to my boot for the race.

The best part of the whole experience was when Sarah (Schleper) and Resi (Stiegler) came up to me and gave me a big hug. They supported me so much and it was the best thing they could have done for me because in a way they gave me that moment of glory and it made me feel so much better. When they were there and smiling at me, I actually forgot that I had won and remembered that they are two great skiers and really good people that I will be skiing with for years to come. They were there for me and that made everything much better.