Mikaela Shiffrin gives up downhill but aims for 100 World Cup wins
Mikaela Shiffrin gives up downhill but aims for 100 World Cup wins
At’Atomic Media Day, the press meeting of athletes who ski with the Austrian brand’s materials held in Salzburg, Mikaela Shiffrin in an interview with Associated Press said she plans to give up downhill in the coming season after the terrrible fall in Cortina d’Ampezzo that è cost her her sixth World Cup win.
The 29-year-old Colorado outfielder even thought about retirement ("Then you wake up the next morning, go out on the slopes and think: 'I’m motivated, I want to be here’” she said) but now she wants to focus on slalom, giant slalom and super-G pr reach the incredible quota of 100 races won in the World Cup: after beating the great Ingemar Stenmar’s all-time record of 86, Shiffrin currently è at 97 and will immediately start chasing this incredible milestone already from the first race of the season, the giant slalom in Soelden on October 26.
"No downhill, not this season. I would like to take it back, but we will see how it will go,
said Mikaela. “Last season I felt that my level in the super-G was not very good. So the whole season we were trying to find time to train in the superG, giant and slalom. And then I didn’t train in downhill before Cortina, and I wasn’t really prepared to do downhill in Cortina, at least not at a certain level".
The U.S. has had a fruitful summer training camp in Chile, and after the first few races of the season, which are all giants or slaloms, it will be seen if she will be prnready to take on the super-Gs, starting with her home race in Beaver Creek in mid-December. "Personally, I’m not interested in winning 100 races, but I think it’s a monumental moment for the sport”.
“To be honest, with the'86 I really wanted to downplay the achievement, I didn't want the world to think I cared about it…I almost downplayed it so much that I think people didn't want to talk about it. I get soì so much out of sports anyway, and I always have, whether it is 99 races, 100 or 105 or whatever number. I still get so much out of sports”, Shiffrin concluded.
