Mikaela Shiffrin is already looking forward to February, when she’ll compete in her third Olympic games. With two gold medals and one silver to her name, the American skier is looking for more hardware as she plans to participate in every individual women’s Alpine ski race at the Beijing Winter Games.
“Something I’m dreaming about right now is to be able to compete in each event in China. But that means I have to do a lot more preparation, mentally,” Shiffrin said Saturday in a video press conference with media. “Just understanding how that is going to affect me mentally and physically throughout, essentially, the three weeks that we’re there.”
The 26-year-old is currently heading into the World Cup season, with her preparation for the Olympics quickly ramping up.
Shiffrin hopes to race the giant slalom, slalom, super-G, downhill, and combined in China but knows that things can change on a dime during the Games despite careful preparation.
“What are the boxes we need to check to make sure that I have some comfort level staying in a place that I’ve never been before for three weeks and dealing with the jet lag and getting over that as fast as possible?”
Before Shiffrin can narrow her focus to the Olympics, she must first get through the World Cup season, kicking off on Oct. 23 in Austria.