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
My parents strapped a pair of plastic skis on my boots when I was two years old and sent me down our driveway in Vail. Of course, they were holding on to me the whole time, but that was my first experience 'skiing.'
I get this adrenaline rush from just going down the course and feeling like I made a really great turn and I'm going to do it again and again and again. That feeling can't be replaced, and that's the feeling I'm striving to get every time I go out there.
I don't really have time or interest in doing a lot of the crazy things that some of my teenage peers do, mostly because I have such a hectic life that I don't need to add to that chaos by creating my own teenage drama like a lot of teenagers do.
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.
You can't ever make the perfect run, but you can make the best run, and then you clock the fastest time, and that's a win.
Most people just see ski racing during the Olympics.
One of the biggest misconceptions is that carbs are bad. It's a fad right now. Full disclosure: I'm sponsored by Barilla. But I've always been free about saying I love carbs, including pasta, in moderation.
I have all these things I want to do, but I don't have to do them right away. Because it's not just about winning, it's about succeeding, which to me are two different things.
My dream job has always been to be a ski racer.
People watch the Olympics because they want to believe in heroes; I know I did.
When I'm in the starting gate, it's just me and the hill.
Out on the hill under the helmet, nobody sees your face or hair, but then you take it off, and they do - that's the part I'm nervous about.
Whether it's learning to hit a backhand in tennis, learning high school chemistry, or getting better at ski racing, I really believe with hard work and analytic preparation, you can skip a few steps and find the faster way.
I haven't had to make a decision between 'my brand' and money. Everybody seems to get what I'm going for: the healthy lifestyle, staying active, being young and youthful.