Mikaela Shiffrin, photo at right, was hoping for more but is happy with two medals
“She’s so young, and she approaches ski racing much different than pretty much anyone else. ... She can ski for another 10 years and have a lot more medals and a lot more World Cups.” Lindsey Vonn On U.S. teammate Mikaela Shiffrin
PYEONGCHANG, South Korea – Mikaela Shiffrin, the U.S. ski racer who once talked of winning five gold medals at a Winter Olympics, will leave the Pyeongchang Games with one gold, one silver and no regrets.
“First of all, to come away from this Olympics with two medals is insane, especially after the schedule changes on the front end and then having the combined pushed forward,” Shiffrin said Thursday after claiming a silver medal in the Alpine women’s combined event.
It was the third rescheduled event for Shiffrin, 22, who withdrew from the downhill and super-G after weather delays compressed the schedule.
“It was like something was playing pingpong in my brain over this whole Games,” she said with a laugh. “So it’s really nice to be at the end of it and to know that I do have two medals.”
Yet there’s also a sense that she’s capable of much more, after adding to the gold medal she won in the slalom in the Sochi Games in 2014.
“It’s incredible what she’s able to accomplish,” U.S. star Lindsey Vonn said. “She’s so young, and she approaches ski racing much different than pretty much anyone else. I think she had potential to do a lot more these Games, but at the same time, same like me, you can’t expect everything all the time.
“She can ski for another 10 years and have a lot more medals and a lot more World Cups. But as I saw in my career, things can change quite quickly and you never know what’s going to happen and that’s why you have to appreciate every moment that you have, because ski racing has a way of taking a lot from you. That’s why you have to love it and really have a passion for it if you want to have a long career.”
Mike Day, the U.S. national women’s coach, said one focus for Shiffrin will be confidence. It still looks fragile at times, such as when she won a gold medal in the giant slalom and the next day failed to medal in her best event, the slalom.
Moreover, Shiffrin threw up before her first run of the slalom competition and finished fourth. There was no such anxiety Thursday during the combined event.
“As soon as fatigue set in, it’s difficult when you’re fatigued to be confident,” Day said. “And I think ultimately that is a challenge we need to face and sort out moving forward.”