Mikaela Shiffrin
Mikaela Shiffrin
Mikaela Pauline Shiffrinis an American World Cup alpine ski racer with the U.S. Ski Team, specializing in the technical events of slalom and giant slalom. She is the reigning Olympic, World Cup, and world champion in slalom. Shiffrin is the youngest slalom champion in Olympic alpine skiing history, at 18 years and 345 days...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionSkier
Date of Birth13 March 1995
CityVail, CO
CountryUnited States of America
I have never limited myself by focusing much on being a 'normal' teenager.
I'm not really seeing pressure as a negative.
In the end, I want to be an inspiration to somebody.
I like it when hard work pays off.
If you strive toward the perfect run, accepting that you will always come up short of that is very intriguing. It makes me think about how in life in general, we always want to strive toward perfection, but sometimes perfection would be the worst thing.
I just - I fell in love with the sport when I started to ski gates. Once I was allowed to start training gates around 6 years old, then I really fell in love with it.
I just have tried to adapt to the constant changes that happen all the time in my schedule and try and find any sort of mini-predictability and balance within my very unpredictable life.
During the season, one of the most important things to eat is the carbs. Protein's really important, too, but it's the carbs that are important because I have to consistently refuel for the next day.
Things you don't expect come up, and you have to adapt. You can't let it throw you off. You have to cope. Those are all really valuable skills, in life and racing.
It rained a lot in New Hampshire, and when I skied, the snow was icy and hard, and the mountains were small.
People tell me an Olympic medal is a life-changing event. Except I don't even think about the medal unless someone asks about it.
I've always wanted to do things as fast as possible.
Dream big, but don't be upset if it doesn't happen.
If I hadn't come East as a kid, I might still be a World Cup racer today, but I wouldn't be the same World Cup racer.