“I was trying to figure out how I could disappear from the mountain and melt under the fence,” said three-time medalist Mikaela Shiffrin after her heartbreaking run at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. It stunned not just her but the entire sporting world, three events, three chances, and nothing to show for it. Beijing felt like a wall she crashed into. But that story is long shut. With Milano-Cortina fast approaching, Shiffrin has already flipped the script, sending a clear message to her rivals: she’s far from done.

In Levi, Finland, Team USA kicked off the 2025/26 World Cup slalom season with a near-perfect opening course on Saturday. After Annika Hunt crashed in the opening, Shiffrin came as a third skier, blazing through the course in a dazzling 56.08 seconds, carving out a commanding advantage of more than a full second. Her performance was a statement to her rivals that she might have fumbled in China, but that’s in the past.

While having a conversation with the Olympics.com, She explained, “I don’t want Beijing to be a season that I’m scared of the Olympics, and for the past few years it has been a little bit.” In the last Winter Olympics, Shiffrin crashed out of her opening run, ending any chance of defending her Olympic gold.

The following day, her struggle continued in the women’s slalom, where she recorded another DNF. Finally, her struggles ended at the Women’s combined, but for the worse, as she started strong, only to see her campaign collapse again when the gold medalist from Sochi and Pyeongchang couldn’t complete the slalom section.

It was certainly a terrifying experience, but all of that is in the past now. Talking about her difficulties in Beijing, Shiffrin explained, “I really enjoyed racing everything in Beijing; there were so many factors around those Games. Covid — I had just been sick with Covid about a week before we travelled to China, so was still feeling the effects in my body. My dad had passed away; it was the anniversary of his death in Beijing. I feel maybe I have more experience now, I have more fear, I have a better understanding of the consequences when things don’t go well.”

The Olympic disappointment may have stung, but it also sharpened her hunger. With another Winter Games on the horizon, she’s charging into the new season with purpose, and the comeback is already in motion. This campaign is her runway to the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games, which will ignite Italy next February. Let’s have a look at how the athlete is she is mentally preparing herself for the upcoming battle.

“Try to be steady, try to be positive,” Mikaela Shiffrin said when asked about her Milano Cortina preparation

While her busy schedule has only just begun, Mikaela Shiffrin is already making her mark in the World Cup slalom season ahead of the Winter Games. In a recent conversation with Healthy.com, the athlete was asked how she is mentally preparing for the upcoming Winter Games following her recent setbacks. The Olympic champion said she’s excited for the upcoming Games, but noted that the physical demands are proving to be more challenging than the mental preparation.

“So it’s been a lot of physical training, a lot of time in the gym, a lot of time on the mountain, especially after the last two seasons. I had a crash actually in Cortina two years ago. Then I had the crash last year in Killington [in Vermont] in November, which took me out for a good portion of the season. So having the two previous seasons up to the Games being kind of incomplete injury seasons, it’s been really important for me to build that foundation back.” said the 30-year-old.

With the ghosts of the past finally behind her, the athlete now sets her sights firmly on the upcoming Winter Olympics. As she put it, “I don’t know, I guess stronger and to be able to come into this season with a clean slate in a way. So [it’s] lots of work. Try to be steady, try to be positive.” Driven by that mindset, Shiffrin is chasing nothing short of gold, but whether she can reclaim Olympic glory remains a story only time will reveal.