OLYMPICS: Shiffrin pressure eased at Milano Cortina as Vonn return shares spotlight

PARIS – At every Olympic Games, some athletes arrive carrying more than just competitive ambition—they bring the weight of expectation from an entire sport. For Alpine skiing, that figure has long been Mikaela Shiffrin.

At the Milano Cortina Games, however, she will not carry that burden alone.

The 30-year-old American is the most successful skier in history, boasting a record 106 World Cup victories. Her medal count, World Cup wins, and dominance across multiple disciplines place her in a league of her own. Yet numbers alone cannot explain why she shapes the Olympic conversation.

What sets Shiffrin apart is her combination of technical mastery and emotional candor. In a sport that has long celebrated stoicism, she has spoken openly about pressure, anxiety, and loss—especially following the death of her father in 2020.

That openness has changed perceptions of what greatness looks like under Olympic scrutiny, where every mistake is magnified.

The Olympics have never been straightforward for Shiffrin. She has two gold medals—in slalom in 2014 and giant slalom in 2018—alongside eight world championship titles. Yet the Games have also brought disappointment, most notably in Beijing 2022, when she failed to finish her two strongest events.

Rather than diminishing her stature, those setbacks made her more relatable as she faced them head-on.

This time, however, the spotlight on U.S. Alpine skiing has shifted. While Shiffrin remains the sport’s dominant force and leads the overall World Cup standings, Lindsey Vonn’s return to racing has drawn renewed attention.

Vonn’s comeback has reshaped the media narrative around the Games. Long retired before resuming her career, Vonn once again commands headlines, reviving stories of legacy and longevity, and creating a parallel storyline that eases the singular focus on Shiffrin.

For Shiffrin, that matters. Vonn previously carried the same expectations—to win medals, to dominate coverage, and to embody American Alpine skiing at the Olympics. With Vonn back on the start list, that symbolic weight is no longer Shiffrin’s alone.

The presence of Vonn allows Shiffrin to step back slightly from the media noise and focus on skiing.

In Cortina d’Ampezzo, she will face tough competition from Switzerland’s Camille Rast, who recently won back-to-back giant slalom and slalom races after Shiffrin opened the season with five consecutive slalom victories.

If Olympic greatness is defined as much by resilience as by medals, Shiffrin arrives as the complete package. When the Games turn their gaze to Alpine skiing, the American will remain the central focus—but this time, with room to breathe.

-Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Toby Davis/Reuters