At the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, American alpine skiing sensation Mikaela Shiffrin took on three events: the team combined, giant slalom, and slalom. Though she missed the podium in the team combined and giant slalom, Shiffrin ended her fourth Olympic journey in spectacular fashion, seizing gold in the slalom. And now, there’s a maybe surrounding her with the next Olympics.
Mikaela Shiffrin on Competing in Another Olympics
Shiffrin made her Olympic debut at the 2014 Sochi Games, where she won gold in the slalom, becoming the youngest Olympic slalom champion in history at the age of 18. After Milan, she now holds the record for the most Olympic gold medals by any U.S. alpine skier with three to her name.
In a recent interview, Shiffrin discussed the prospect of competing at the 2030 Winter Olympics, which will be held in the French Alps.
“Four years feels like a lifetime. So it feels so far away, but also, I know how fast that time can go. I won’t say no, but I won’t say yes either.”
The record for most Olympic medals won by an alpine skier is held by Norway’s Kjetil André Aamodt, who has eight to his name.
Given that Shiffrin already holds the record for most World Cup wins by an alpine skier, she will no doubt be looking to break or equal Aamodt’s record at the Olympics.
Shiffrin on How She Won Gold in Milan
Shiffrin’s results in the team combined and giant slalom took many by surprise. In the team combined, she and Breezy Johnson finished fourth after Shiffrin posted one of the slowest slalom times.
In the giant slalom, she narrowly missed the podium, finishing 11th but just 0.3 seconds shy of the silver medal.
After securing gold in the slalom, Shiffrin spoke about how she won the event, saying as per Sports Illustrated:
“Honestly, the skiing is what I cared about. And for sure, of course, the medal, and the gold – I mean, that’s a dream come true. But at some point this week, I just said, like, ‘Stop dreaming, just ski.’ This whole time has been waiting for two 45 second (runs) today to be able to ski, and I’m so happy to be able to do the right thing in the right moment.”
Shiffrin’s season is far from finished. She will soon head to Lillehammer, Norway, to chase more glory at the World Cup finals from March 21 to 25.
