Mikaela Shiffrin: Skier discusses ‘visions of crashing’ again after December injury.

Shiffrin’s crash at the World Cup giant slalom at Killington in the United States in December

• Author: Anna Thompson
• Role: BBC Sport winter sports lead
• Alpine World Ski Championships: Women’s Slalom.
• Live coverage available on BBC Sport’s website, iPlayer, and the red button.

Mikaela Shiffrin, the world’s most successful alpine skier, has opened up about her mental health struggles while returning to competition following a freak race injury.

In December, the American was on track for her 100th World Cup victory in a giant slalom race in Killington. However, she crashed near the end of the run, somersaulting into the safety nets.

Shiffrin suffered a puncture wound and muscle damage to her stomach, which she described to BBC’s Ski Sunday as “weird, gross, and painful”.

The 29-year-old has returned to competition at the Alpine World Ski Championships in Saalbach, Austria, after missing two months due to an injury.

“From the outside you look fine, you’re back skiing again – but you’re not OK yet,” Shiffrin told me.

“I’ve been experiencing that more than I could have imagined, especially with giant slalom.

“Sometimes I have random visions of crashing. It could not be the Killington crash; it could be the course in front of me, but I have this random vision that I’m back in the nets and something else is stabbing through me.”

On Tuesday, she competed in the women’s team combined event alongside world downhill champion Breezy Johnson, declining an invitation from Lindsey Vonn. The pair won gold.

Shiffrin described racing with Johnson as a different, positive dynamic, whereas her fellow American, 29, simply wanted to see her happy.

The medal was simply a bonus, according to Shiffrin: “As an individual athlete, you never feel like you’re doing enough.

“Be faster, fix other things; there is always something to work on.” You live in this very critical world, and you never feel good enough.

“But I could really rely on Breezy. I wanted to do well for her, and she had the same feelings for me.”

Shiffrin chose not to compete in the giant slalom, but will compete in the slalom on Saturday, which she has won four times before.

She currently has 15 World Championship medals and could break the record if she finishes on the podium again.

Shiffrin, on the other hand, was unsure whether to add to the tally.

“It might not be enough for a medal but this is part of the recovery process,” she informed us.