Mikaela Shiffrin admits she seriously questioned whether she would ever return to elite giant slalom racing after the devastating crash she suffered in November 2024, a moment that left her physically injured and mentally uncertain about her future in the sport.
Speaking exclusively with PEOPLE, the American alpine skiing icon reflected on the aftermath of the crash, which caused a deep puncture wound to her abdomen, narrowly missing her colon. As she worked her way back toward competition, Shiffrin said the challenge was not only about healing, but about whether she could regain a level high enough to protect her World Cup standing in giant slalom.
At the time, she found herself on the brink of losing critical World Cup points, a scenario that could have effectively ended her GS career. Without those points, athletes lose favorable start positions, making it far harder to compete at the highest level. Shiffrin acknowledged that the thought of having to rebuild from that position again felt overwhelming, and she wasn’t sure she had the capacity to do it another time.
She explained that returning from injury in alpine skiing is particularly complex due to the World Cup point system. While injured athletes can temporarily freeze their points, those protections disappear once racing resumes, forcing skiers to immediately start earning results again. After a knee injury earlier in 2024, Shiffrin returned late in the season and focused solely on slalom, avoiding giant slalom due to limited preparation time. The November crash, however, put her GS standing at even greater risk.
Despite those doubts, Shiffrin gradually rebuilt her form. Since returning, she has posted multiple strong finishes, including a fifth-place result in Kranjska Gora in early January 2026. Although she admits she is still not fully back to peak speed in giant slalom, her dominance in slalom has remained intact, highlighted by a six-race World Cup winning streak to start the season and more than 100 career World Cup victories.
Now, with the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan just weeks away, Shiffrin is focused on momentum rather than questions. She describes this phase as a blend of comeback and full-throttle competition, choosing to stay locked into the process. With medals firmly on her mind, she is determined to keep pushing forward, drawing motivation from everything she has already overcome.
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