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Mikaela Shiffrin races within the U.S. for the one time this season this weekend, within the highlight at a World Cup cease in Killington, Vermont (broadcast schedule here).
All slopes result in Beijing in February. Shiffrin, a gold medalist in 2014 and 2018, has repeated in interviews that she needs to enter all 5 particular person occasions at her third Olympics: downhill, super-G, big slalom, slalom and mixed.
“A really aggressive recreation plan,” she mentioned earlier this month. “I don’t know if that’s going to work.”
The plan was the identical in 2018. It didn’t work due to climate, proof that any technique in Alpine snowboarding is written in pencil.
Excessive winds postponed the beginning of Olympic competitors by three days in South Korea and compressed the schedule. The enormous slalom, slalom and super-G have been speculated to happen over a six-day span, however as an alternative have been on back-to-back-to-back days.
Shiffrin, drained from successful the GS and its post-race commitments after which inserting fourth within the slalom the following day, skipped the super-G after which the downhill earlier than taking silver within the mixed.
“It wouldn’t have been secure to race,” the super-G and downhill given her exhausted state, she mentioned.
Take into account this historical past as Shiffrin takes one other run-up to the Olympics with 5 occasions in thoughts: No skier who entered all 5 at one Olympics gained greater than three medals complete or greater than two golds, in response to Olympedia.org. Croatian Janica Kostelić gained three golds and a silver in 2002, racing 4 occasions (arguably extra spectacular than doing it in 5, however nonetheless completely different).
Alpine snowboarding isn’t swimming, gymnastics or monitor and subject, the place Olympic icons like Michael Phelps, Simone Biles and Carl Lewis devoured medals (and have been anticipated to). The 12 Winter Olympians with probably the most medals come from biathlon, cross-country snowboarding and pace skating. No Alpine skiers are in that group.
“There actually are a handful of individuals that may win in all disciplines in a single yr, and that’s over the historical past of the game, not simply the final decade,” NBC Sports activities analyst Steve Porino mentioned.
Shiffrin took the standard path to turning into an all-around skier, beginning with slalom and big slalom, then cautiously dipping into the riskier super-G and downhill. These shall be her third Olympics. Bode Miller and Lindsey Vonn entered 5 occasions on the Olympics for the primary time of their third Video games, too.
Taking over a full load is extra the exception in lately of elevated specialization. Smaller nations are producing expertise in slalom and big slalom. Any time Shiffrin spends racing pace occasions (or coaching them) is time taken away from staying sharp in her prioritized technical occasions.
PyeongChang marked the primary Olympics that zero distinguished male or feminine skiers raced all 5 occasions for the reason that super-G was added to this system in 1988.
“It’s tougher to do right now than it’s ever been,” Porino mentioned of being an all-around skier. “While you’re dealing with the folks that do have the chance to coach to their coronary heart’s content material [in one or two disciplines], that makes the job all of the tougher.”
The three most up-to-date ladies to race all 5 particular person occasions at one Olympics, and are available away with medals, mirrored on the varieties of challenges that would await Shiffrin in Beijing.
Maria Höfl-Riesch: Two golds managing situations
German Maria Höfl-Riesch, a four-time Olympic medalist who retired in 2014, was the uncommon all-around skier whose greatest occasions have been the extremes of downhill and slalom.
On the season-long World Cup, most weekends with a downhill additionally embody a super-G. And most weekends with a slalom additionally embody a large slalom. So it made sense to race all the things, even when big slalom was a weak point.
“I by no means thought of skipping occasions,” she mentioned. “After all, for giant occasions [Olympics or world championships], it might possibly make sense. However you by no means know. I knew I may do [well] if there’s the fitting day and if I’ve somewhat little bit of luck on my aspect. It by no means occurred in GS, however it may have occurred. I all the time had an opportunity.”
Höfl-Riesch rolled into the 2010 Vancouver Video games ranked second on the planet within the downhill, the primary occasion on the Olympics, and first within the slalom, the final occasion.
She positioned eighth within the Olympic downhill after the 2 ladies in entrance of her crashed, extending her wait within the begin home a number of minutes (once more, variables in ski racing).
Höfl-Riesch then gained the mixed (one run downhill plus one run slalom). Gold medals carry additional time commitments, equivalent to media, however she noticed it as a constructive for the remainder of her program. Notably the slalom, which wasn’t for an additional 9 days.
“When you win a medal, all the things goes simpler,” she mentioned. “The massive strain was gone, and I used to be far more relaxed.”
The slalom carried two important challenges. Höfl-Riesch remembered it rained a lot of the week main as much as the occasion, however her coach insisted she practice by the horrible situations.
Then there was Austrian Marlies Schild, Höfl-Riesch’s main slalom rival who didn’t race anything at these Video games.
“I used to be somewhat bit drained from all of the season already and in addition from the Olympics,” Höfl-Riesch mentioned. “However, the massive strain was on her as a result of she was solely concentrating on the slalom. It was her solely and largest likelihood. And so I feel it was even a psychological benefit for me that I already had the [combined] gold medal in my pocket. When you could have that, mechanically extra vitality.”
Within the fog and snow that she educated for, Höfl-Riesch beat Schild to grow to be the second lady to win two gold medals whereas snowboarding 5 occasions at an Olympics.
Höfl-Riesch mentioned that earlier than her retirement in 2014 (after sickness restricted her to 4 occasions on the Sochi Olympics), Shiffrin’s crew spoke together with her German coach about how Höfl-Riesch logistically made it work racing a full schedule.
Lindsey Vonn: Aim was one gold medal
Vonn additionally raced all 5 occasions on the 2010 Olympics, however her aim was singular: one gold medal. She received it in her greatest occasion, the opening downhill, after a making an attempt buildup.
Vonn went greater than every week with out snowboarding main into the Video games as a result of a deep proper shin bruise. Poor climate delayed the beginning of competitors by three days and altered the downhill course for coaching runs.
“So there was actually no prep,” mentioned Vonn, who nonetheless benefited from the valuable additional time to heal and gained gold by the biggest margin in 16 years.
Within the subsequent races, Vonn was quickest within the downhill portion of the mixed however hooked a tip within the slalom run (she failed to complete her three World Cup slaloms main into the Video games).
Then within the super-G, she earned a satisfying bronze medal — after 5 of the primary 11 starters crashed or skied astray — whereas lamenting not risking extra late in her run.
Vonn had two medals, together with her aim of 1 gold, in her three greatest occasions. She by no means thought-about skipping both of the final two races, big slalom or slalom, regardless of not being a medal favourite.
Vonn was quickest in a foggy first run of the GS earlier than crashing about 20 seconds from the end line. She straddled a gate within the opening slalom run two days later.
“I simply have a special method, I feel, possibly than others,” mentioned Vonn, who on the 2006 Olympics skied 4 occasions after a nasty downhill training crash. “I all the time thought I used to be a contender, in any race that I entered.”
Vonn’s mindset: For those who enter extra races, you could have extra probabilities. Even when meant, for Vonn, that 90 % of the time she didn’t get enough observe.
“The strain is usually much less,” she mentioned. “Since you all the time know, after the primary race, you could have 4 extra.”
Tina Maze’s recommendation that Mikaela Shiffrin gained’t neglect
In 2013, Tina Maze had arguably the best season in Alpine snowboarding historical past. She raced in all 35 World Cup occasions, plus all 5 world championships occasions (one gold, two silvers) and amassed 2,414 World Cup factors, shattering the single-season file.
On the finish, Maze confided in Shiffrin, who had simply turned 18, gained her first world slalom title and had not but examined herself in pace occasions.
“Don’t do each [World Cup] occasion. It’s so exhausting,” Shiffrin mentioned Maze advised her, recalling the dialog in 2017. On the time, Shiffrin had a aim to get to some extent the place she may race all the things. She got here closest in 2018-19, beginning 26 of 35 World Cups and successful a file 17 instances. Shiffrin stays selective on downhills and super-Gs on the five-month-long World Cup, heeding Maze’s recommendation.
Maze, a late bloomer from the small nation of Slovenia, raced in all 5 occasions at each Olympics and world championships from 2010 by 2015. She gained a number of medals every time and at the very least one gold in 4 of the 5 main championships.
“I didn’t need to miss any race, as a result of each race, I noticed a chance to be taught and to enhance,” mentioned the retired Maze, who most well-liked racing to training greater than the methodical Shiffrin.
Maze mentioned that competing and coaching in each self-discipline left little time for changes, equivalent to making an attempt out new tools to adapt to the climate or course.
That performed a job in her first occasion of the 2014 Olympics, the tremendous mixed. Maze didn’t have the fitting boots for the warmer-than-expected situations and ended up fourth, one tenth of a second off the rostrum.
The subsequent race was the downhill. The evening earlier than, Maze visualized her run, crossing the end line for victory. She cried. Slovenia by no means had a Winter Olympic champion, and after the mixed miss, this was going to be her greatest shot.
“The stress in Olympic Video games, dealing with it and being a favourite, it’s not simple to deal with all of these expectations that you’ve got and that everyone else round you has,” mentioned Maze, who struggled within the season main as much as Sochi, altering coaches twice. “Even I used to be watching this yr’s Olympics and seeing [Simone] Biles, how she’s struggled there being so good in any other case, as an athlete, as a performer.”
Maze’s visualization proved prophetic. She tied for downhill gold with Swiss Dominique Gisin, then gained the GS outright six days later.
Mikaela Shiffrin’s Olympic flip
Shiffrin’s racing schedule shall be talked about loads the following two-plus months. It additionally got here below scrutiny at each world championships on this Olympic cycle.
In 2019, in the course of her unimaginable 17-win World Cup season, she selected to not race the downhill nor the mixed at worlds after successful the super-G in Åre, Sweden. She as an alternative spent the time getting ready for the GS (she earned bronze) and slalom (gold).
Her two golds and one bronze in three occasions at 2019 Worlds marked a greater medal haul than any skier has introduced residence from doing all 5 occasions at an Olympics.
“My aim is to be a real contender each time I step into the beginning, and to have the form of longevity in my profession that may permit me to look again when all is alleged and achieved and say that – for a overwhelming majority of the period of my profession – I used to be capable of compete and battle for that prime step fairly than being sidelined by getting burnt out or injured from pushing past my capability,” she posted on Instagram, explaining her determination. “It’s clear to me that many imagine I’m approaching my profession in a method that no person has earlier than, and folks don’t actually perceive it. However what?! That’s fully effective by me, as a result of I’m ME, and nobody else.”
In 2021, Shiffrin entered worlds having simply gone a full yr between placing on longer skis for coaching pace occasions. She selected to enter the super-G and the mixed anyway, on about 4 days of super-G observe. The consequence: a bronze within the super-G (on monitor for gold earlier than a late mistake) and gold within the mixed (with a super-G run fairly than downhill) by the biggest margin below the present format since 2007.
She additionally earned big slalom silver and slalom bronze, that means she has completed fourth or higher in her final 13 Olympic or world champs begins, with medals in 12 of them.
“Podium in each occasion that I skied on the world championships goes to boost the expectations for the Olympics,” she acknowledged earlier than this season.
But it surely doesn’t change the unpredictability of ski racing, evidenced by the obstacles confronted by the all-around skiers who got here earlier than her.
Shiffrin, who already had early season coaching curtailed by a again harm, known as the Olympics “funky,” for lack of a greater phrase, due to the variability. These Olympics specifically, given no person can have raced on the venue earlier than the Video games start.
“I can to attempt to loosen up somewhat bit in regards to the plan and attempt to be optimistic,” Shiffrin mentioned, “and in addition, when the time comes. we’ll need to be practical as properly.”
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