Perfect Slalom Start Puts Shiffrin in Prime Olympic Position

Mikaela Shiffrin could hardly have scripted a more impressive build-up to an Olympic season. As the calendar edges toward Christmas, the American alpine skiing superstar remains flawless in slalom, having swept all four World Cup races in the discipline so far. It has been a powerful statement of intent from an athlete who, only months ago, was questioning her own confidence and recovery after the most traumatic crashes of her career.

Shiffrin’s dominance in slalom has been accompanied by encouraging signs across other events, underlining just how far she has come since suffering serious injuries and psychological setbacks last season. The two major crashes she endured left deep physical scars and lingering mental hurdles, but this winter has shown a skier rediscovering not just her technical brilliance, but also her resilience under pressure.

Reflecting on her perfect slalom record, Shiffrin explained that the margins between success and failure remain razor-thin, regardless of reputation or previous results. She described how every run presents a fresh challenge, even when she appears to be cruising ahead of the field. According to Shiffrin, the perception from the outside is often that there is no pressure when she holds a commanding lead, but internally each start feels like stepping into a completely new situation. Finding the depth and focus to deliver her best skiing every time, she said, requires immense effort and mental strength.

Her next test comes at a familiar and successful hunting ground. This weekend, Shiffrin returns to Semmering in Austria, a resort etched deeply into her career highlights. Of her record-breaking 105 World Cup victories, seven have come at Semmering, including two occasions when she completed a clean sweep of all available races in a single weekend, first in 2016 and again in 2022. This time, the programme is more compact, featuring just two events: a giant slalom on Saturday followed by her favoured slalom on Sunday.

While slalom has been her domain of near-total control, giant slalom remains a work in progress as she continues her comeback. Shiffrin holds the record for the most World Cup wins in giant slalom, with 22 victories, yet she has not stood on a podium in the discipline since before her violent crash in Killington, Vermont, last season. That fall left her with a deep puncture wound to her side and significant damage to her oblique muscles, injuries that took months to heal and disrupted her rhythm in longer, more physically demanding races.

Despite that, there have been signs of steady improvement. Shiffrin has finished fourth twice in giant slalom this season, including a strong performance in Tremblant, Quebec, suggesting that a return to podium contention may not be far away. She has been open about the patience required, stressing that rebuilding confidence and consistency takes time. Rather than rushing expectations, she has focused on gradual progress, drawing on the quality and repetition she currently finds more easily in slalom.

Her willingness to test herself has not been limited to technical events. Recently, Shiffrin stepped back into a super-G race in St. Moritz, Switzerland, marking her first speed event since a dramatic downhill crash in Cortina d’Ampezzo nearly two years ago. That race ended with a missed final gate, but until that moment she was on course for a respectable result. More importantly, the run represented a psychological milestone, signalling her readiness to re-engage with the higher speeds and risks of speed disciplines.

Shiffrin has made it clear that super-G remains a significant personal goal, with an eye on the upcoming Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. Women’s alpine skiing events will take place in Cortina, adding an extra layer of motivation to her efforts to regain confidence on faster courses. Even beyond the Olympics, she sees super-G as an important part of her overall ambition to return to strong, competitive form across the full World Cup programme.

In slalom, however, there is little doubt about her supremacy. Shiffrin has routinely won races by large margins this season, averaging victories by around 1.5 seconds, a vast gap at the elite level. Perhaps even more striking is her ability to recover instantly from mistakes. Small errors that might derail other skiers barely interrupt her flow, as she finds another gear almost immediately.

She described this ability as a kind of mental “gas pedal.” When her momentum is disrupted, she senses it instantly and responds by increasing her intensity and precision through the rest of the run. This sharp contrast to the latter half of last season is telling. Back then, Shiffrin was openly grappling with post-traumatic stress disorder following her crash in Killington, and the freedom and confidence that once defined her skiing were noticeably absent.

Now, those doubts appear to be receding. One more slalom victory would match the strongest opening run of her career in the discipline, equalling the five consecutive wins she recorded at the start of the 2018–19 season. Including the final slalom of last winter, she has already won five in a row, and her personal best streak stands at seven, a mark she has reached twice before.

Looking ahead to the Olympics, Shiffrin’s versatility could see her contest as many as four events in Cortina: slalom, giant slalom, super-G and the newly introduced team combined. She already boasts two Olympic gold medals, from slalom in 2014 and giant slalom in 2018, and the prospect of adding to that collection is very real.

The team combined event offers another intriguing opportunity. At last season’s world championships, Shiffrin partnered with downhill specialist Breezy Johnson to claim gold, showcasing the effectiveness of pairing elite speed and technical skiers. In this format, one athlete races the downhill leg while a teammate completes the slalom, with their combined times determining the final standings.

There is also renewed intrigue around the possibility of a star-studded pairing. Lindsey Vonn previously expressed interest in teaming up with Shiffrin at the world championships, though that did not materialise. Now, after a strong start to the season at the age of 41, Vonn’s form has reignited talk of a potential “dream team” should circumstances align.

For now, though, Shiffrin’s focus remains firmly on the present. With flawless slalom form, steady progress in giant slalom, and tentative steps back into speed events, she is assembling a compelling Olympic narrative. More than the medals or records, this season has highlighted her resilience, adaptability and relentless pursuit of excellence — qualities that continue to define one of the greatest alpine skiers the sport has ever seen.