"That's what I came here to do, to show up with that skiing,"
"I can't even explain what it feels like to cross the finish line and know before I saw the time that I did that skiing, and then to see the time and think, 'Holy shit.'"
Mikaela Shiffrin crossed the finish line in the 2026 Olympic slalom appearing stunned and crouched with her head between her knees. She routinely takes moments to absorb high-pressure runs and treats slalom with engineer-like precision. She executed 63 carved turns on each of two runs, delivering technically near-perfect skiing. Shiffrin entered the Games carrying an eight-year Olympic medal drought and the lingering effects of a giant-slalom crash 14 months earlier that produced PTSD. Team Shiffrin provided emotional and logistical support to quiet outside noise and manage expectations. For the first time in some Games, records and medals mattered to her.
Read at Slate Magazine
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