As a two-time Olympic gold medalist and three-time World Cup champion, American Alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin had high expectations for the 2022 Winter Olympics. But so far, Shiffrin’s performances haven’t met her gold-medal standard.
Against all expectations, she crashed out in both giant slalom and slalom, two events in which she has won Olympic gold. Later, she placed ninth in the super-G. She took a risk by skiing the downhill for the first time but didn't contend for a medal.
After her final downhill training run for the upcoming women's combined event, Shiffrin reflected on her performances in an interview with NBC's Todd Lewis. Despite her uncharacteristic results, she was upbeat about her Olympic experience so far.
SEE MORE: Mikaela Shiffrin 18th in Olympic downhill debut, looks ahead to combined event
“At this point there’s been a lot of emotional turbulence this entire Games. But there has also been some really special moments,” said Shiffrin in the interview. "For me the most special moments have fallen outside my own medal potential."
Shiffrin used inspiration from fellow Olympians’ success to fuel herself. She found motivation in these “special moments” when both rivals and friends won medals. Shiffrin’s support also extends to her boyfriend, Norway’s Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, a fellow Olympic skier with two medals already at the 2022 Winter Games.
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While she has yet to step on the podium, Shiffrin still has women’s combined remaining, an event in which she won silver in PyeongChang. Though combined is her last chance to win an individual medal, her positivity hasn’t wavered. “I know it’s going to be fun to ski this track one more time,” Shiffrin said. “I’m just trying to take the happiest feeling I had so far this Games and bring it into tomorrow, because I think it could just be a really wonderful day to race.”
The combined event begins at 9:30 p.m. ET Wednesday, LIVE on NBC, followed by the slalom phase early Friday morning on USA Network. Both events can be streamed live on NBCOlympics.com, the NBC App and Peacock.
