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Mikaela Shiffrin’s long-awaited return to hurry snowboarding will come on the world championships beginning subsequent week.
The American standout introduced Tuesday that she plans to enter 4 occasions on the worlds in Cortina d’Ampezzo: mixed, super-G, big slalom and slalom.
It’s the most important program that Shiffrin has ever launched into at a significant championship — worlds or Olympics.
Earlier than her father died final 12 months, Shiffrin had expanded from her favored technical disciplines of slalom and big slalom to additionally race — and excel in — the velocity disciplines of super-G and downhill. A lot in order that she gained the gold medal within the super-G on the final worlds in Are, Sweden, two years in the past.
Since her prolonged break and her return to the World Cup circuit in November, although, Shiffrin has not entered a single velocity race. However she has spent a number of days coaching super-G this week.
“I really feel comfy on the skis and it’s tremendous enjoyable, so I’m actually going into the velocity part of world champs with the intention virtually making an attempt to take it as a chance for coaching,” Shiffrin mentioned.
“Clearly it’s a race and it’s world championships so I’m going to be making an attempt to ski as quick as I can and I feel that I’ll be capable to have a reasonably good end result.”
Nonetheless, Shiffrin acknowledged that she in all probability gained’t be the favourite for the super-G, with that standing belonging to Lara Intestine-Behrami, the Swiss racer who has gained 4 straight super-Gs this season.
In spite of everything, Shiffrin has not raced on the lengthy boards since profitable a super-G in Bansko, Bulgaria, greater than a 12 months in the past.
“I simply have completely no assure that it’s going to stack up or if it’s going to be ok to defend my super-G title,” Shiffrin mentioned. “I’m not getting into ‘to defend my title.’ I wished to be clear about that. It’s a bit bit extra advanced than that, as a result of I undoubtedly haven’t skilled plenty of velocity. I’ve skilled three days of velocity within the final 12 months. I’m simply making an attempt to be real looking.”
The 2-time Olympic champion took a 10-month break from the game following her father’s loss of life.
The worlds open subsequent Monday with the ladies’s mixed occasion, adopted by the lads’s and girls’s super-G the next day. Shiffrin’s ultimate occasion would be the slalom on Feb. 20, a race she shall be aiming for a fifth consecutive title in.
No followers shall be allowed to attend worlds as a consequence of a nationwide ban on spectators at sports activities occasions in Italy amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Tuesday marked the one-year anniversary of the loss of life of Shiffrin’s father, Jeff. On Monday, Shiffrin tweeted, “Questioning why people are so obsessive about anniversaries.”
Extra AP sports activities: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Andrew Dampf is at https://twitter.com/AndrewDampf
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