Shiffrin Feels Reduced Olympic Pressure as Vonn’s Comeback Divides Attention at Milano Cortina

At every Olympic Games, a select group of athletes arrive carrying more than the usual hopes of personal success. They shoulder the emotional expectations of their sport, their country, and often an entire generation of fans. For more than a decade, Alpine skiing has had one such figure in Mikaela Shiffrin. As the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics approach, however, the American superstar will no longer bear that responsibility alone.

Now 30, Shiffrin stands unmatched in the history of Alpine skiing. Her résumé reads like a statistical anomaly: 106 World Cup victories, dominance across multiple disciplines, and a level of technical precision rarely seen in the sport. She has rewritten record books to the point where comparisons with her peers feel almost redundant. Yet her influence on the Olympic narrative extends far beyond numbers.

Shiffrin’s significance lies not only in how often she wins, but in how openly she has spoken about the emotional toll of being expected to win. In a sport traditionally defined by toughness and restraint, she has been refreshingly candid about anxiety, pressure, and vulnerability. Following the death of her father in 2020, Shiffrin allowed the public into her struggle with grief and mental fatigue, challenging long-held assumptions about what elite resilience looks like.

That honesty has reshaped the conversation around greatness in Alpine skiing. Rather than presenting an untouchable image, Shiffrin has shown that even the most decorated athletes wrestle with doubt and expectation—especially under the unforgiving glare of the Olympic spotlight, where success is immortalized and failure magnified.

Her Olympic journey itself reflects that duality. Shiffrin is a two-time Olympic champion, capturing slalom gold at Sochi 2014 and giant slalom gold four years later in PyeongChang. She also owns eight world championship titles, reinforcing her status as the most complete skier of her generation. Yet the Games have not always rewarded her dominance.

The Beijing 2022 Olympics were particularly painful. Shiffrin failed to finish in her two strongest events, a stunning outcome for an athlete who arrived as a favourite in multiple disciplines. Those moments, replayed endlessly, could have undermined her legacy. Instead, they humanised it. Shiffrin confronted the disappointment publicly, refusing to hide from it, and in doing so earned admiration beyond the usual measure of medals.

As the 2026 Games in Italy draw closer, Shiffrin remains the sport’s leading competitive force. She sits atop the overall World Cup standings and continues to set the benchmark in slalom and giant slalom. Her skiing is as refined and aggressive as ever. But for the first time in years, the narrative surrounding U.S. Alpine skiing has broadened.

The reason is Lindsey Vonn.

Vonn’s unexpected return to competitive racing has dramatically altered the Olympic landscape. Long since retired, the former Olympic champion has stepped back into the spotlight, reigniting familiar storylines about longevity, legacy, and defying time. Her presence has instantly captured media attention, providing a parallel storyline that runs alongside Shiffrin’s pursuit of further Olympic glory.

For Shiffrin, Vonn’s comeback represents something quietly significant: relief. For years, Shiffrin alone symbolised American Alpine skiing at the Olympics. She was expected not only to win medals, but to carry the identity of the sport itself. Vonn once knew that burden well, having faced the same expectations during her own Olympic peak.

Now, with Vonn once again on start lists and headlines, that symbolic weight is shared. The focus is no longer singular. The narrative is no longer exclusively Shiffrin’s to carry.

That shift matters in a sport where mental margins are often as decisive as physical ones. With attention divided, Shiffrin has room to operate with slightly less scrutiny, allowing her to centre her energy on performance rather than expectation. It offers space to ski freely—something she has repeatedly emphasized as essential to her success.

The competition she faces in Cortina d’Ampezzo will be formidable regardless. Switzerland’s Camille Rast has emerged as a serious threat, recently delivering back-to-back World Cup victories in slalom and giant slalom. Those wins came after Shiffrin opened the season with five consecutive slalom triumphs, underlining just how narrow the margins are at the top of the sport.

Rast’s rise ensures that the Milano Cortina Games will not be a coronation but a contest. Yet Shiffrin arrives equipped with something experience cannot fully measure: perspective. Years of triumph and disappointment have refined not just her technique, but her understanding of what the Olympics demand emotionally.

If Olympic greatness is defined solely by medals, Shiffrin has already secured her place among the legends. But if it is also defined by resilience, adaptability, and the ability to endure pressure without losing identity, then she arrives in Italy as a complete athlete.

When the Games turn their attention to Alpine skiing, Shiffrin will still command the centre of the stage. Her achievements ensure that. The difference this time is that she will not stand there alone. With Vonn’s return sharing the spotlight, the American icon enters Milano Cortina not burdened by expectation—but buoyed by balance, clarity, and the freedom to simply ski.

And sometimes, that space to breathe can make all the difference.