Keystone
Mikaela Shiffrin strings victory after victory and tumbles records in the World Cup. But it doesn’t give her that lightness at major events. On the contrary. The high expectations weigh on her mind.
Ultimately, it was “just a kind of misunderstanding”. This is how the American explained her emotional outburst, the tears during an interview after the 2nd place in the World Cup Super-G on Wednesday in Méribel. But the fact that it happened said a lot about how title fights must be on the inside of Mikaela Shiffrin.
The trigger was a somewhat clumsy question from an ORF reporter, which Shiffrin obviously triggered in relation to the high expectations. “It looked a bit like rock ‘n’ roll upstairs, like blues downstairs, right?” asked the journalist. It sounded like second place was not enough in the interviewer’s eyes, which is why Shiffrin defended himself: “I wouldn’t call it that at all. It was the best that was possible. So I’m damn happy about this result. But…», she said before she was speechless and tears welled up in her eyes.
To the point of vomiting
I’m happy, but you obviously aren’t. That should have been Shiffrin’s thoughts at that moment. The 85-time World Cup winner convincingly conveys that, despite her many successes, she herself is not one who is only satisfied with victories. But the thoughts reveal how much pressure the American feels from outside, especially at major events. At the Olympic Games in Beijing she went without a medal, although she competed in six disciplines and was favored in at least half.
In an interview with the “NZZ” Shiffrin admitted in autumn 2017 that she sometimes had to vomit before starting. “Suddenly, the public’s expectations were higher than my own. That put me under pressure. I felt like I had to win and that made me lose control,” she explained. When she was doing so well in the slalom, people started speculating how often she could win in a row.
Struck by her father’s death three years ago, Shiffrin is a serial winner again this season. However, after the Olympic Games without a medal, the high expectations at the World Championships in Méribel demanded a lot from her. “In the last four weeks I’ve had hundreds of questions about this World Cup and whether I’m worried it will be like last year’s Olympics. When you get asked the same questions over and over again, it’s very difficult to keep your mind balanced and still be positive.”
Halved success rate
The fact that the World Cup and Olympic Games are different pairs of shoes for Shiffrin is underlined by the numbers: in 241 starts in the World Cup, the 27-year-old landed on the podium 134 times and won 85 times, which corresponds to a podium rate of 55 percent and a win rate of corresponds to more than a third. At the Olympic Games, the odds halve to 27 and 18 percent (3 podiums, 2 wins in 11 races).
At world championships, Shiffrin has been even more efficient than in the World Cup with 80 percent podium finishes and 40 percent victories. But the failed combination at the start of the current title fights, in which Shiffrin was on course for gold and dropped out shortly before the finish line, opened a wound. “I thought to myself: This must be a joke. Over 50 percent of my failures happened at the Olympic Games or World Championships. It’s just funny because I was able to win a medal today,” Shiffrin said after the Super-G.
Valuable tips from Roger Federer
Shiffrin sometimes got advice from Roger Federer, who invited her to lunch after the Olympic Games. “He said I should enjoy my future successes more intensely. And don’t immediately think about the next race or training session. He suggested that I take a break and take a deep breath,” says the busy all-rounder.
Shiffrin took the tip with him this winter. “I often think of our conversation. I’m happier this season and don’t let setbacks get to me as much.” Since then, eleven victories and World Championship silver in the Super-G have come out of it.
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