(Paris) The American Mikaela Shiffrin, in the running to equal the record of victories of Lindsey Vonn (82) on one of the two giants of Kranjska Gora (Slovenia) on Saturday or Sunday, also found her best level on the aspect performance mentality, she admits.
“For the past three years, since my father died, I had memory problems. This year is the first time I’ve been able to concentrate at this level. It came back, but it took a long time,” explained the champion after her victory in the Zagreb slalom on Wednesday.
With his 81e World Cup victory, Shiffrin could aim for compatriot Vonn’s women’s record the next day, but the second slalom in the Croatian capital was canceled on Thursday, due to high temperatures and wind which completed a 100% snow slope artificial already in bad shape.
The hunt for the record is therefore postponed to Saturday and Sunday, with two giants in Kranjska Gora, while Shiffrin remains on an incredible series of five consecutive victories on the circuit, including the two giants disputed in Semmering (Austria) last week.
Imperial with seven victories in thirteen races this season, the quadruple winner of the big crystal globe has regained her best skiing and above all mental fulfillment, after being very affected by the death of her father in early 2020, then by his failure at the Beijing Olympics last year (no medal, three outings).
The 27-year-old skier consulted a sports psychologist last summer, reveals NBC Sports.
“It helped her to know herself better, and to be more independent,” said her mother Eileen, a member of her team, to the American media. “For example, if one of us comes back to her and she doesn’t agree, she’ll be able to tell us directly or take the time to think it over before rejecting it. »
In Semmering, the American was able to fight on difficult tracks in the second run after creating the gaps on the first track to win.
“It perfectly shows the mental strength that lives in him at the moment,” adds his mother.
Week after week, the skier from Vail (Colorado) repeats that she does not make figures and records a goal.
“Mikaela is introverted, sometimes hard to read. If she thinks about the record, I don’t see it, ”concedes Eileen Shiffrin.