Mikaela Shiffrin is opening up about the moment that helped her reset before winning Olympic slalom gold in Milano-Cortina.
Speaking on TODAY, Shiffrin said she had an “almost out-of-body experience” at the start-gate before her second run. The moment came after she watched the skier ahead of her miss a gate, bringing her back to her disappointing performance at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
“My biggest fear going into the Games was that I would feel really isolated and alone,” Shiffrin said.
But, thanks to her team, that’s not how she felt on the Italian slopes last month.
“They made me feel very supported and feel very together,”
Shiffrin said of her backers. “It felt like they were skiing it with me.”
The 31-year-old went on to complete a clean second run and top the Olympic slalom podium, earning her third career individual gold medal. The victory only padded Shiffrin’s already-stacked resume, which spans a record 110 World Cup wins and a record-tying six overall World Cup titles.
Will Olympic Skier Mikaela Shiffrin Compete in the Next Winter Olympics?
While she remains at the top of her game, questions still surround Shiffrin’s future — especially when it comes to participating in the 2030 Winter Games in the French Alps.
“We look forward to seeing you at the next Winter Olympics,” TODAY anchor Craig Melvin told her with a smile, closing out the interview.
“Very good, Very good. We’ll talk later,” she laughed.
Mikaela Shiffrin secured a record-tying sixth women's overall World Cup skiing title on Wednesday in Norway, matching a near-50-year high mark.
The 31-year-old needed only to finish in the Top 15 of the giant slalom finale to clinch the title ahead of German challenger Emma Aicher. Shiffrin subsequently accomplished the feat Aicher even began her second run.
"It's quite emotional," she said. "This thing sums up a whole season of work and fighting with the whole team, and I have to say to Emma that her skiing has been just outstanding."
Shiffrin now stands alongside Austrian downhill legend Annemarie Moser-Pröll, who won six overall titles in the 1970s. Moser-Pröll claimed five consecutive championships from 1971-75, before adding a sixth in 1979.
Shiffrin won three straight overall titles from 2017-19, followed by back-to-back championships in 2022 and 2023, while Lindsey Vonn ranks third with four overall titles.
The season marked another dominant campaign for the US alpine star. She captured her third Olympic gold medal by dominating the slalom at 2026 Winter Olympics. She also won nine of 10 World Cup slalom races this season.
Shiffrin now tallies a record 110 World Cup victories across all disciplines — the most in history by any skier, men's or women's. Retired Swedish legend Ingemar Stenmark sits second with 86 wins.
The title caps a remarkable comeback for Shiffrin, who spoke publicly about learning from her disappointing performance at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. She used those lessons to fuel her triumph in Milan, where she reclaimed her place atop the alpine skiing world en route to the 2026 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup.
Now that the final anthem of the 2026 Games has sounded, Team USA has officially shattered the women's Winter Olympics medal count record with 17 total medals across all sports — excluding mixed events.
Six of those 17 were golds — from alpine skier Breezy Johnson's downhill win and bobsled legend Elana Meyers Taylor's first-ever Olympic gold to the US women topping the hockey podium — adding another high-mark to the list as the USA collectively took home a program-record 12 gold medals in 2026.
"Our team is so strong," said slalom champion Mikaela Shiffrin. "Everybody just showed up with so much courage and heart here. I'm so proud to be part of this American team."
Counting individual, team, and mixed events, more than 40 US women's sports athletes are leaving the Games with at least one medal — another Winter Olympics record for Team USA.
Along with mixed events, USA women helped earn 21 of the team's 33 medals in Milan, with their medal count including eight of the team's 12 golds and all but one of the nine 2026 bronzes.
"You still have to look back and point to Title IX and the effects of the ability to have those competitive years in an elite collegiate system that helps drive the success for women in ways that other countries just haven't yet benefited," explained US Olympic and Paralympic CEO Sarah Hirshland.
Mikaela Shiffrin returned to the top of the podium Wednesday, as the US star won the women's slalom by a dominant 1.50 seconds at the 2026 Winter Olympics — her first medal since 2018.
The 30-year-old posted a combined time of 1:39.10 across two runs. Switzerland's Camille Rast took silver, while Sweden's Anna Swenn Larsson claimed bronze at age 34, becoming the oldest slalom medalist in Olympic history.
Shiffrin led Wednesday's race from the start. She posted 47.13 seconds in the first run, building a 0.82-second lead before going last in the second run and sealing the victory.
The victory ends an eight-year Olympic medal drought. She went nine consecutive events without reaching the podium, including six at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, where she failed to finish three races. In Cortina, she's finished fourth in the team combined and 11th in giant slalom.
Mikaela Shiffrin Leaves Her Mark on the Olympic Slopes
The slalom triumph mirrored Shiffrin's Sochi 2014 gold medal performance, won at just 18 years old. Now, 12 years later, she becomes only the second skier to win two Olympic slalom golds, joining Switzerland's Vreni Schneider.
"Maybe just today, I realized what happened in Sochi," an emotional Shiffrin said afterward. "It's crazy."
The gold also makes Shiffrin the most decorated US alpine skier in Olympic history, with three golds and four total medals. Additionally, she holds the record for most World Cup victories with 108 wins.
The winningest alpine skier in FIS World Cup history has one shot left at a 2026 Winter Games podium finish, as Team USA star Mikaela Shiffrin hunts her first Olympic medal in nine straight attempts in Wednesday's women's slalom final.
While Shiffrin entered this month's Olympics having won the event seven times across her most recent eight World Cup starts, the US standout has struggled so far in Cortina — four years after failing to medal at the 2022 Beijing Games.
After a 15th-place slalom run — notably amid difficult course conditions — pushed Shiffrin and teammate Breezy Johnson down to fourth in last week's team combined, the 30-year-old posted an 11th-place finish in Sunday's giant slalom, an event in which Shiffrin won gold at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics.
In a sport where split-second margins determine victory or defeat, Shiffrin preempted her critics by reframing the outcome of her Sunday race, saying "when I think about it, I'm [only] three tenths off of the podium."
"It's such a high level of competition," Shiffrin explained. "It is really, really cool that we as athletes were able to showcase that on this day."
How to watch Mikaela Shiffrin in the Olympic women's slalom
The USA ski star will cap the 2026 Winter Games with her best event, racing in the women's slalom on Wednesday.
Shiffrin will race for Olympic hardware beginning at 4 AM ET, live on USA Network.
Team USA's star ski duo came up short in the first-ever Olympic women's team combined on Tuesday morning, as Breezy Johnson and Mikaela Shiffrin fell 0.06 seconds off the podium with a fourth-place finish.
Coincidentally, Johnson initially gave Shiffrin an exact 0.06-second edge by winning the two-event competition's downhill opener to put the favored US pair squarely into medal contention — but Shiffrin's 15th-place slalom run failed to finish the job.
Notably, Shiffrin was one of only 18 slalom skiers able to complete the course on Tuesday morning, as difficult conditions saw the other eight unable to even finish their team combined runs.
Despite Johnson and Shiffrin's performance, Team USA still found its way onto the event's debut podium, as second-team skiers Jacqueline Wiles and Paula Moltzan took bronze behind Austria's gold medalists Ariane Raedler and Katharina Huber and German silver medalists Kira Weidle-Winkelmann and Emma Aicher.
Wiles, who missed Sunday's downhill podium by just 0.27 seconds, not only joined Moltzan in earning a first-ever Olympic medal on Tuesday morning, the 33-year-old also surpassed US legend Lindsey Vonn by becoming the oldest woman alpine skier to ever medal at the Olympics.
Tuesday's loss aside, Johnson's breakout run continues after the 30-year-old secured downhill gold on Sunday, while Shiffrin — the world's most decorated alpine skier — is still seeking her first Olympic medal since the 2018 PyeongChang Games.
How to watch Breezy Johnson, Mikaela Shiffrin at the Winter Olympics
Women's alpine action returns with the Super-G race on Thursday, with Johnson back on the slopes when the event starts at 5:30 AM ET on USA Network.
Shiffrin's Olympic run continues with Sunday's giant slalom race, which begins initial runs at 4 AM ET on USA Network before NBC broadcasts the medal round live at 7:30 AM ET.
Entering the 2026 Olympics with a newly torn ACL, Team USA skiing icon Lindsey Vonn will race in the women's downhill event on Sunday — with the 41-year-old using it as a test case before committing to additional events at the Winter Games.
Vonn is also hoping to compete in Tuesday's team combined slalom event — possibly alongside fellow US star Mikaela Shiffrin — but the recent knee injury could derail her fifth, and likely final, Winter Olympics run.
"It will be objective performance that will define what our teams look like," USA women's skiing head coach Paul Kristofic clarified. "In the end, my job is to put the best pairings together so we can perform and get a medal and potentially win."
With Vonn's status technically still unclear, Italy is eyeing a home win, as 2018 gold medalist Sofia Goggia teams up with fellow decorated veteran Federica Brignone on Tuesday.
That said, Vonn successfully completed an early Friday training run — on the same Cortina course where she holds a record 12 World Cup wins.
"She was smart. She didn't go all in," said Vonn's coach Aksel Lund Svindal after her 11th-place run. "There was reserves today.... It's going to be hard but I think she could possibly [medal] on Sunday."
"No one would have believed I would be here…but I made it!!" Vonn posted to social media prior to Friday's downhill training. "I'm not going to waste this chance.... Let's go get it!!"
How to watch Lindsey Vonn at the 2026 Winter Olympics downhill event
Vonn will make her 2026 Olympic debut in the women's downhill event at 5:30 AM ET on Sunday, with live coverage airing on USA Network.
The 2026 Winter Olympics have officially arrived. After years of planning, the world's best on snow and ice are descending upon Northern Italy for the Milano-Cortina Games.
And in addition to all the normal reasons to celebrate, the 2026 Olympics will feature a record-breaking 47% participation rate for women's sports athletes — the largest in Winter Games history.
From the streets of Milan to the peaks of Cortina d'Ampezzo, here is everything you need to know about the 2026 Winter Olympics.
The Basics: 2026 Winter Olympics Schedule in Milano-Cortina
Dates
The Winter Olympics schedule runs from February 6th through February 22nd, 2026, with preliminary ice hockey matches beginning February 4th.
Location
The Winter Games will take over Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, with additional venues in Valtellina, Val di Fiemme, and Anterselva.
Time Difference
Italy is six hours ahead of New York (ET) and nine hours ahead of Los Angeles (PT).
Opening and Closing Ceremonies
The Opening Ceremony takes place on February 6th at Milan's San Siro Stadium, with the Closing Ceremony capping things off at the historic Verona Arena on February 22nd.
Women's Sports Stars and Storylines Headlining the Winter Olympics Schedule
From figure skating to ice hockey, here are the buzziest Olympic names and most compelling narratives playing out in Milan.
Mikaela Shiffrin (USA, Alpine Skiing)
The sport's undisputed GOAT enters the 2026 Games as the winningest alpine skier of all time. And after a dominant 2025 season, Mikaela Shiffrin has emerged as the gold-medal favorite in both the Slalom and Giant Slalom events. According to the Winter Olympics schedule, alpine skiing runs February 8th through the 22nd at Cortina's Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre. Tune in to see if she can add to her growing legacy as the most decorated skier in history.
Lindsey Vonn (USA, Alpine Skiing)
The most talked-about comeback in sports is finally hitting the Olympic stage. At 41, Lindsey Vonn has overcome the odds — and a partial knee replacement — to return to the slopes in winning fashion. To complicate matters, Vonn tore her ACL just last week, but the five-time Olympian says she'll still compete despite the injury. Regardless of her performance in Milan, her presence alone has already redefined perceptions of veteran athletes in high-impact sports.
Chloe Kim (USA, Snowboarding)
25-year-old Team USA favorite Chloe Kim is chasing a historic three-peat in the women's snowboard halfpipe. Already the first women's snowboarder to win back-to-back golds in the event, Kim remains the technical standard-bearer for the sport — though her performance in Milan might hinge on her health, as she continues to recover from a recent shoulder injury. The snowboarding competition runs February 8th through the 16th in Livigno.
Eileen Gu (China, Freestyle Skiing)
Following a triple-medal performance in Beijing, China's Eileen Gu returns to the Games as a global icon. With high marks in Halfpipe, Slopestyle, and Big Air, the 22-year-old remains one of the most versatile — and promising — threats on powder.
Amber Glenn (USA, Figure Skating)
Known for explosive athleticism, captivating storytelling, and a powerful triple Axel, Amber Glenn is a cornerstone of the US figure skating team. Becoming the first openly queer woman to win a senior US title after picking up gold at the 2026 US Championships, Glenn's journey to the 2026 Games makes for especially good TV and even better on-ice competition. Figure skating events take place February 7th through the 21st at Milano Ice Skating Arena.
Kaori Sakamoto (Japan, Figure Skating)
The reigning queen of consistency, Kaori Sakamoto is a widely expected contender in the women's figure skating field. Armed with immense speed and technical precision, the 25-year-old enters 2026 looking to add an elusive individual gold medal to her resume.
Women's Ice Hockey
Marking the first Winter Olympics of the PWHL era, expect rosters across the field to be deeper and more game-ready than ever before. Most storylines will undoubtedly revolve around Canada and Team USA's heated rivalry, led by longtime captains Hilary Knight (USA) and Marie-Philip Poulin (Canada).
But count on European powerhouses like Finland and Czechia to close the competitive gap thanks to the sport's overall professionalization. Women's ice hockey is set to take over the Winter Olympics schedule from February 5th through the 19th.
New Events Debuting at the 2026 Winter Games
The IOC introduced several new medal events this year, primarily in an effort to improve gender parity throughout the Games.
Ski Mountaineering (AKA Skimo)
A high-endurance sport that involves racing up mountains on skis using specialized skins for grip, covering steep terrain on foot, and cruising quickly through backcountry.
Women's Individual Large Hill (AKA Ski Jumping)
This February, women's sports athletes will additionally compete on the same high-altitude, long-distance jump hills as the men's event, moving beyond the traditional Normal Hill.
Women's Doubles Luge
This sled racing event features two women sharing a single sled, navigating an icy track at speeds exceeding 80 MPH.
Freestyle Dual Moguls
This freestyle skiing event showcases two athletes racing side-by-side down a mogul-studded slope, picking up points for speed, technical turns, and aerial tricks in a head-to-head knockout format.
How to Watch the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano-Cortina
NBC and Peacock have signed on as the exclusive broadcasters of the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Peacock will offer 24-hour livestreamed coverage of the complete Winter Olympics schedule, while NBC and USA Network subsequently handle primetime action as well as highlights.
Team USA will see 97 skiers and snowboarders representing the red, white, and blue in Milan next month, with US Ski & Snowboard tapping a wealth of veteran experience for the 2026 Winter Olympic roster on Thursday.
All-time winningest FIS World Cup skier Mikaela Shiffrin will compete in her fourth Winter Games, with the 30-year-old two-time Olympic gold medalist hunting hardware in her preferred slalom event after failing to medal in Beijing in 2022.
At the same time, 41-year-old skier Lindsey Vonn is also mounting a dramatic comeback, participating in her fifth Olympics after winning multiple downhill medals on this season's World Cup circuit.
Also returning to the Olympic stage will be 25-year-old halfpipe star Chloe Kim, who is officially clear to return to competition after a recent shoulder dislocation put her Milan plans to become the first snowboarder to win three straight Olympic gold medals in jeopardy.
Alongside the deep veteran talent on the roster, US Ski & Snowboard is sending 48 athletes to make their Olympic debuts next month, including 15-year-old halfpipe freestyle skiier Abby Winterberger and 20-year-old two-sport talent Sammy Smith.
Smith, a Stanford sophomore and starting defender for the 2025 College Cup runner-up Cardinal soccer team, will compete in cross-country skiing for Team USA in Milan.
Considering 15 of the 25 US Olympic medals at the 2022 Beijing Games came from ski and snowboarding, US snowboard program director Rick Bower noted that, "In many ways, making this team is even harder than [competing in] the Olympics themselves."
With the 2026 Winter Olympics fast approaching, US skiing icon Mikaela Shiffrin has started the 2025/26 FIS World Cup cycle in top form — particularly in her favored slalom event.
Closing out last season with a victory, Shiffrin is currently on a multi-event winning streak, earning her sixth straight slalom title in Semmering, Austria, on Sunday.
"It was a really hard day today, tough conditions, a really big fight, and the pressure's on… I did my best, best possible run," Shiffrin said afterwards.
Momentum is on her side, with Shiffrin set to enter the 2026 Winter Games in Italy as the winningest skier in World Cup history, surpassing Swedish legend Ingemar Stenmark's 86 wins in March 2023 and becoming the first skier to reach 100 World Cup victories earlier this year.
Sunday's race marked the 30-year-old's 106th career World Cup title, with Shiffrin looking to add to her ever-growing historic record with three more slalom events scheduled before the Olympic women's Alpine skiing events kick off on February 8th.
The 2014 Olympic slalom champion and 2018 Winter Games giant slalom gold medalist is aiming to return to the podium after failing to medal at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
Shiffrin will likely hit the slopes again next weekend, when the women's FIS World Cup lands in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, for a giant slalom and slalom competition.