"Why should this make me more nervous?"- Mikaela Shiffrin opens up on being bothered and distracted by records

By Adityan Pillai

Modified Nov 16, 2024 01:33 GMT

Mikaela Shiffrin spoke about being nervous while chasing records during her races. The American skier expressed how she has learned the importance of mental resilience and streamlined focus while dealing with expectations of breaking records.

Shiffrin made her first appearance in the 2024/25 Alpine skiing season in the giant slalom event at the World Cup season opener in Sölden, Austria. The 29-year-old finished fifth in the opening race of her season.

With 97 World Cup wins under her belt, Shiffrin's appearance this season in particular is highly anticipated by fans who look forward to her registering the monumental achievement of winning 100.

Mikaela Shiffrin said that she currently keeps herself focused and in the right mindset while also stating that there was a time when the expectations distracted her.

“When I keep my mindset focused on skiing well, on implementing the tools, tactics, and fundamentals that I’ve been working on in training—that’s when my competition is at its highest level. There have been years where I’ve been more aware of expectations, maybe even a little distracted by them," the 29-year-old said.

She recalled an incident during her 50th World Cup win and revealed that focusing on records made her really nervous which stood as a barrier from putting forward her best performance.

“I remember being so focused on that number, and then realizing that it was making me more nervous. I thought, ‘This is silly. Why should this make me more nervous?' If I need extra motivation, all I have to do is look at what my team is doing to give me the best preparation,” she said.

Mikaela Shiffrin on being questioned about breaking records

Mikaela Shiffrin at the Alpine Skiing World Championship... - Source: Getty

Mikaela Shiffrin spoke about being questioned about breaking records. Ever since the beginning of the 2024/25 Alpine Skiing season, the question about etching her name in history books by winning her 100th World Cup title has been recurring during every interview.

She expressed her views on records while competing in the Alpine skiing season and said:

"My mentality for so long has been trying to avoid those questions. I've talked to you all about this, like, 'the numbers again, the records, I don't want to talk about the records, I don't think about the records'. Even though that may be true, bringing energy to the sport is never a bad thing."

Despite avoiding the question repeatedly, Shiffrin revealed the discussion around winning her 100th World Cup title has energized as well as motivated her to put forward her best performances as the season progresses. Furthermore, she revealed that she was grateful to receive the support of her fans throughout her career as she continued her pursuits to achieve greatness.