Ankündigung von Mikaela Shiffrin zur Saison 2026/27

Mikaela Shiffrin, die erfolgreichste alpine Skirennläuferin aller Zeiten, wird ihren Fokus verstärkt auf Riesenslalom und Super-G legen, während sie – beginnend mit dem Stifel Killington Cup – nur ausgewählte Slalomrennen bestreiten wird.

Zusammenfassung des Statements

In einem neuen Video auf ihrem YouTube-Kanal erläutert Mikaela Shiffrin am Dienstag, dem 6. Oktober 2026, ihre Herangehensweise an die Saison 2026/27. Sie bezeichnet diese als „Saison der Erkundung“: Der Schwerpunkt liegt stärker auf Riesenslalom und Super-G, ergänzt durch ein reduziertes Slalom-Programm, das beim Stifel Killington Cup beginnt. Nach 16 Jahren im Rennsport bleibt ihr Ziel unverändert: Sie möchte ihre Grenzen ausloten und eine bessere, schnellere Skirennläuferin werden.

Zum kompletten Video-Statement.

 

Media Brief original in Englisch:

 

Mikaela Shiffrin Frames 2026-27 as a “Season of Exploration”

Mikaela Shiffrin, the greatest alpine ski racer of all time, to put more focus on GS and super-G while
racing select slaloms, beginning at the Stifel Killington Cup

Announcement Summary

Mikaela Shiffrin shares her approach to the 2026-27 season in a new video on her YouTube channel on
Tuesday, October 6, 2026. She is calling it “The Exploration Season”: more focus on giant slalom and
super-G, and a reduced slalom schedule that begins at the Stifel Killington Cup. After 16 years of racing,
her goal is unchanged: she aims to push her limits and become a better, faster ski racer.

Season Plan at a Glance

• More focus on giant slalom and super-G.
• Fewer slaloms (not NO slalom). The Stifel Killington Cup slalom is planned as her first slalom of
the season, with a few more to be selected from there.
• She does not plan to travel to Levi or Gurgl for the early-season slaloms.
• She plans to maintain her slalom ranking so she can shift focus back if she chooses.
• The biggest change is in the first third of the season.
• Dedicated windows off snow for recovery and body maintenance, plus more focused giant
slalom and super-G training blocks.

Mikaela, on Gratitude and Skiing for Herself

• “This also has something to do with this concept of skiing for myself. For most of my career, I’ve
been really aware of how everything I do will affect the people and the partners and the sort of
stakeholders and how it’s just going to affect others. My team, my family, fans, U.S. Ski &
Snowboard, sponsors, the media, people who have invested enormous amounts of time into
assisting my career. And I’m so incredibly grateful for those people. … I’ve also realized that
there’s a difference between gratitude for people who help you and feeling like I have to make
decisions about my life and career for those people.”
• “I can care deeply about all of the entire support system without making every decision based on
what I think they want from me. And a side note, and the beautiful thing about that is all of the
people, all of the close people, the real ones, my supporters, my partners, all the people who
have been there, they’ve been so clear since the beginning that what they want is what’s best
for me.”
• “I’m trying a little bit more to live in the gratitude of it and ski because I want to ski.”

 

In Mikaela’s Words

• “This season is an exploration. We’re calling it the exploration season.”
• “The joy for me has never been about medals or records.”
• “I can’t emphasize enough, nothing about slalom is easy.”
• “Racing slalom underprepared would be like jumping into a giant blender and just trying to avoid
the blades.”
• “I’m not looking for less commitment. I’m not looking for actually even less effort.”
• “I’m not trying to do less because I care less. I’m trying to do something different because I still
care SO much.”
• “If you bought tickets in hopes to see me competing in a specific slalom race, don’t cancel those
tickets. Go to the race and go watch the beauty of the competition.”
• “I’m trying something new here and it’s different and it is a little scary. It’s pretty uncomfortable
and it’s also very, very exciting and all of those things can exist at the same time.”
• “I’m changing the question. Instead of asking how much can I possibly fit into this upcoming
season, I’m asking what happens if I give myself enough space to explore the things that I’m the
most curious about.”
• “I feel ambitious. I still feel competitive. I feel like I have a desire to ski fast. I feel like those things
haven’t changed. I’m really just giving myself permission to be curious about where that takes
me, and that’s the exploration.”

Key Takeaways from the Announcement

• A GS comeback that sparked this. Last season she worried she might drop out of the top 30 in
GS. She set a goal of working back into the top seven, achieved it, and found she has speed in GS
even where fear exists.
• A longevity conversation. After her injury a couple of years ago in the Cortina downhill (2024),
her team first discussed that doing everything indefinitely isn’t sustainable. She calls that
realization liberating.
• Why not slalom only. It might be the obvious results-driven choice, but she believes it would
make her want to retire sooner.
• An intense prep period. She says her prep season has been more intense than ever before, and
the most complicated to plan because of the weather.
• A rare trip home. The lighter early-season schedule may give her time at home with family,
including her new niece, before five more months on the road. Shiffrin often only spends around
six weeks of the year at home in Edwards, Colorado, and doesn’t really have an offseason.
• A message to fans and young racers. She doesn’t want this to be a sad thing for anyone or
change how young athletes inspired by her see slalom.
• An emotional decision. She admits she hates change and closing doors, which is why she is
keeping slalom options open. 

Context

This is not a step back or a farewell to slalom. Shiffrin calls it a fully committed program, not a lighter
one: she is putting her effort where she feels most inspired. She considers slalom to be one of the most
demanding events to maintain, and she will race it only when she can be fully prepared.

Beyond racing, Shiffrin’s work includes her podcast, What’s the Point with Mikaela Shiffrin, presented by
Stifel; open conversations about mental health, PTSD and grief; supporting Share Winter Foundation’s
work to expand access to winter sports; and helping grow the sport through better awareness and
broadcast coverage and projects like ESPN’s On the Edge

Über ATOMIC

ATOMIC mit Sitz im österreichischen Altenmarkt ist der größte Skihersteller der Welt. Im Herzen der Alpen entwickelt und produziert das Unternehmen seit 70 Jahren Technologien für den Alpin-, Renn-, Skitouren-, und Langlaufsport. Als Marktführer in Qualität und technologischen Innovationen verkauft das Unternehmen seine Produkte weltweit in 49 Ländern. Mit ihrer Passion für den Skisport und Innovation will die Marke den Skisport weiterentwickeln. Atomic ist Teil von Amer Sports, einer globalen Unternehmensgruppe renommierter Sport- und Outdoor-Marken, die an der New Yorker Börse gehandelt wird.

 

Bild: Atomic