😨 Mikaela Shiffrin. The name conjures images of precision, dominance, and a World Cup win count that eclipses every other alpine skier in history. She is the undisputed Greatest of All Time (GOAT) in her sport. Yet, as she ramps up her preparation for the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, she has delivered a refreshingly vulnerable admission: she still gets the jitters.
For an athlete who has already stood atop the Olympic podium and faced down every conceivable pressure, this honesty is a powerful reminder. It shatters the myth that champions are immune to fear; instead, it proves that the most successful competitors are simply the ones who have mastered how to manage it.
The Weight of a Legacy
The road to the next Games is paved with more than just physical training for Shiffrin. She carries the heavy legacy of her past Olympic experiences, particularly the shocking struggles of Beijing 2022, which saw her fail to finish several events. That difficult chapter drew intense scrutiny—a pressure cooker that few athletes ever endure.
Now, as the American superstar sets her sights on Italy, those familiar butterflies are taking flight. But these aren’t just typical pre-race nerves; for Shiffrin, the anxiety is deeply rooted. She has been open about the mental processing blocks and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms she experienced following recent, high-speed crashes and injuries, forcing her to grapple with the very real, sometimes life-threatening, risks of her sport.
The New Mindset: Caring vs. Crushing
Rather than viewing the nerves as a weakness, Shiffrin has reframed them as a necessary signal. “I’m certainly nervous, too, which is good,” she stated recently. “It means we care, right?”
This philosophy is the cornerstone of her mental preparedness for Milano-Cortina. She is approaching the entire season with a “realistic” and “step-by-step” mentality, focusing on technical precision, building confidence, and getting her mental processing speed back up to par after her time off. For the record-breaker, the preparation isn’t just about speed; it’s about making peace with the fear and prioritizing a focused mindset over the crushing weight of external expectations.
The Shiffrin aiming for 2026 is one who is transparent about her vulnerability. By admitting that the nerves persist, she not only humanizes her exceptional talent but demonstrates that managing anxiety is an ongoing tool, not a conquered enemy. Her jitters are simply proof that her passion remains fierce—a feeling she is actively learning to weaponize on the Olympic stage.