{"id":2186351,"date":"2026-10-08T20:52:46","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T17:52:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2186351"},"modified":"2026-10-08T20:52:46","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T17:52:46","slug":"mikaela-shiffrin-at-atomic-media-day-im-not-closing-any-doors-on-slalom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2186351","title":{"rendered":"Mikaela Shiffrin at Atomic Media Day: \u201cI\u2019m Not Closing Any Doors\u201d on Slalom"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<figure id=\"attachment_430682\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-430682\" style=\"width: 1920px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" class=\"size-full wp-image-430682 lazyload\" src=\"image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAoAAAAHFAQMAAABYftoiAAAABlBMVEUAAAD\/\/\/+l2Z\/dAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAADpJREFUeNrtwTEBAAAAwqD1T20Hb6AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAOA0j1UAAXmoXy8AAAAASUVORK5CYII=\" alt width=\"640\" height=\"453\" data-src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/FullSizeRender.jpg?resize=640%2C453&amp;ssl=1\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/FullSizeRender.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/FullSizeRender.jpg?resize=300%2C212&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/FullSizeRender.jpg?resize=1200%2C849&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/FullSizeRender.jpg?resize=768%2C544&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/FullSizeRender.jpg?resize=1536%2C1087&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/FullSizeRender.jpg?w=1280&amp;ssl=1 1280w\" data-max-width=\"640\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-eio-rwidth=\"640\" data-eio-rheight=\"453\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" class=\"size-full wp-image-430682\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/FullSizeRender.jpg?resize=640%2C453&amp;ssl=1\" alt width=\"640\" height=\"453\" data-eio=\"l\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-430682\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mikaela Shiffrin at the Atomic Media Day 2026. | Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-1\" style=\"margin: 8px auto;text-align: center;display: block;clear: both\">\n<!-- GAM 71161633\/SNWBR_snowbrains\/article_hrec_1 --><\/p>\n<div data-fuse=\"article_hrec_1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Mikaela Shiffrin took the stage at Atomic Media Day in Austria on Friday for her first extended public remarks since announcing a new approach to the 2026-27 season.<\/strong> In the on-stage interview, the American said her team is in a good place, that the reaction to her plan has been kinder than she expected, and that slalom will \u201calways feel like home\u201d even as she shifts her focus to giant slalom and Super-G.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/snowbrains.com\/mikaela-shiffrin-fewer-slaloms-giant-slalom-super-g-2026-27\/\"><em>Mikaela Shiffrin Declares 2026-27 as \u2018Season of Exploration\u2019 With Fewer Slalom Races<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Healthy, With One Wonky Toe<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Asked to rate her physical preparation from 1 to 10, Shiffrin straight out said an 8, qualifying the statement with, \u201cI almost never rank anything at 10.\u201d<\/strong> She said she had no pains and no injuries, but jokingly added that she had a \u201cpretty serious dodgeball injury\u201d to her toe, then said she was only half kidding. The toe is \u201call wonky now,\u201d she said, \u201cbut it\u2019s fine.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Two Short Camps in Chile<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Shiffrin said she completed two camps in Chile, and both ran shorter than planned.<\/strong> She explained that Chile has been getting heavy snow while Europe has had little, so the team was \u201ctrying to escape some of the snowstorms.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cI had some productive days,\u201d she said.<\/strong> \u201cI would like to have a few more before S\u00f6lden.\u201d She rated her ski feel \u201clike six with potential for improvement,\u201d and praised her coaches and ski service for managing the logistical challenges of a rather odd summer season that saw all of Europe\u2019s glacier ski areas close. The World Cup season opens in just two-and-a-half weeks with the women\u2019s giant slalom in S\u00f6lden, Austria, on October 24 \u2014 so not a lot of time to squeeze in more training.<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-15\" style=\"margin: 8px auto;text-align: center;display: block;clear: both\">\n<div class=\"sb-trending-widget\">\n<div class=\"sb-trending-header\">\n            <span class=\"sb-trending-icon\">\ud83d\udd25<\/span><br \/>\n            <span class=\"sb-trending-label\">Trending on SnowBrains<\/span>\n        <\/div>\n<ol class=\"sb-trending-list\">\n<li class=\"sb-trending-item\">\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/snowbrains.com\/mikaela-shiffrin-atomic-media-day\/?utm_source=trending_widget&amp;utm_medium=internal&amp;utm_campaign=trending\" class=\"sb-trending-link\" data-trending-title=\"Mikaela Shiffrin Explains Her New Focus at Atomic Media Day\" data-trending-position=\"1\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"sb-trending-thumb\">\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAFAAAABAAQMAAAC3CWJ1AAAABlBMVEUAAAD\/\/\/+l2Z\/dAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAA9JREFUKM9jYBgFo2DoAgACwAABuG9msgAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==\" alt=\"Mikaela Shiffrin Explains Her New Focus at Atomic Media Day\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"80\" height=\"64\" data-src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/FullSizeRender.jpg?resize=200%2C125&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"lazyload\" data-eio-rwidth=\"80\" data-eio-rheight=\"64\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/FullSizeRender.jpg?resize=200%2C125&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"Mikaela Shiffrin Explains Her New Focus at Atomic Media Day\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"80\" height=\"64\" data-eio=\"l\">\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"sb-trending-text\">\n                        <span class=\"sb-trending-num\">1<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"sb-trending-right\">\n                            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src=\"image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAoAAAAGvAQMAAADxEfYeAAAABlBMVEUAAAD\/\/\/+l2Z\/dAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAADlJREFUeNrtwTEBAAAAwqD1T20JT6AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACAswGIXwABKu6cYQAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==\" alt width=\"640\" height=\"431\" data-src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/FullSizeRender-2.jpg?resize=640%2C431&amp;ssl=1\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/FullSizeRender-2.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/FullSizeRender-2.jpg?resize=300%2C202&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/FullSizeRender-2.jpg?resize=1200%2C809&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/FullSizeRender-2.jpg?resize=768%2C518&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/FullSizeRender-2.jpg?resize=1536%2C1035&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/FullSizeRender-2.jpg?w=1280&amp;ssl=1 1280w\" data-max-width=\"640\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-eio-rwidth=\"640\" data-eio-rheight=\"431\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" class=\"size-full wp-image-430683\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/FullSizeRender-2.jpg?resize=640%2C431&amp;ssl=1\" alt width=\"640\" height=\"431\" data-eio=\"l\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-430683\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shiffrin explaining her rationale behind her new approach. | Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>New Faces, New Equipment Questions<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Shiffrin further explained that there had been some changes to her team.<\/strong> Her mother and coach Eileen Shiffrin will travel less than in the past and that Shiffrin also has a new physical therapist. In addition, she has a new ski technician in her Atomic service team. \u201cI feel very optimistic about the whole thing,\u201d Shiffrin summed up her team changes.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The new plan, announced on Tuesday on the social media channels of her podcast <em>What\u2019s the Point<\/em>, has Shiffrin racing fewer slaloms this winter and putting more training time into giant slalom and Super-G.<\/strong> She said one reason for shifting her schedule is having \u201cthe energy and the space to focus on giant slalom and super-G, where I feel like I can find out what\u2019s possible.\u201d Part of that, she explained, is working through equipment questions she did not have time to explore in recent years.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cI\u2019m just trying some different options for boot setup,\u201d she said, noting the skis have been pretty consistent.<\/strong> \u201cWhen you try different equipment setups or little small adjustments, you realize how many things you can change, and now I have to zone in again.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>\u201cYou Do You\u201d<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Shiffrin announced the plan in a video as well as social media post on Tuesday, October 6.<\/strong> She said she expected people to call her crazy. Instead, the response so far has been \u201cYou do you,\u201d she said with a big thumbs up. She was pleased to say that thus far no one had questioned or misinterpreted her decision.<\/p>\n<p><strong>She wanted to be careful about one message in particular, which she also mentioned in her video and Instagram post.<\/strong> \u201cNothing about ski racing is easy,\u201d she said. \u201cSlalom is not easy, and this is not to find a better challenge. It\u2019s not actually about challenge, it\u2019s just about finding out about something that feels a little bit uncertain right now.\u201d She also had respect for her rivals: \u201cIf I look at the competition, these women are incredible, they\u2019re fast, they work incredibly hard, and there\u2019s no world where I would take that for granted.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>With 73 wins in slalom and nine discipline season globes, the move to cutting her best discipline and focussing on giant slalom and super-G surely could raise a few eyebrows.<\/strong> But Shiffrin said she hopes her approach can encourage others to follow what makes them curious, even when the outcome is unclear.\u00a0\u201cIt might not be winning races, because I really don\u2019t know what the potential is at this point,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I know how hard I will work when I\u2019m motivated. I know how strong and powerful I can be when I\u2019m curious.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_430684\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-430684\" style=\"width: 1920px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" class=\"size-full wp-image-430684 lazyload\" src=\"image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAoAAAAIKAQMAAACJKGzeAAAABlBMVEUAAAD\/\/\/+l2Z\/dAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAD9JREFUeNrtwQENAAAAwqD3T20PBxQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA8G+lKgABsY159wAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==\" alt width=\"640\" height=\"522\" data-src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/FullSizeRender.jpeg?resize=640%2C522&amp;ssl=1\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/FullSizeRender.jpeg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/FullSizeRender.jpeg?resize=300%2C245&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/FullSizeRender.jpeg?resize=1200%2C978&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/FullSizeRender.jpeg?resize=768%2C626&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/FullSizeRender.jpeg?resize=1536%2C1252&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/FullSizeRender.jpeg?w=1280&amp;ssl=1 1280w\" data-max-width=\"640\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-eio-rwidth=\"640\" data-eio-rheight=\"522\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" class=\"size-full wp-image-430684\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/FullSizeRender.jpeg?resize=640%2C522&amp;ssl=1\" alt width=\"640\" height=\"522\" data-eio=\"l\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-430684\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mikaela Shiffrin at the 2026 Atomic Media Day. | Image: SnowBrains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-2\" style=\"margin: 8px auto;text-align: center;display: block;clear: both\">\n<!-- GAM 71161633\/SNWBR_snowbrains\/article_hrec_2 --><\/p>\n<div data-fuse=\"article_hrec_2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>The Slalom Plan: Killington, Then We\u2019ll See<\/h2>\n<p><strong>On her calendar, Shiffrin confirmed that her first slalom will be at Killington, Vermont.<\/strong> Other slalom starts are not fixed, and that includes the slalom at the World Championships in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, in February.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cI\u2019m not closing any doors,\u201d she said.<\/strong> \u201cAs much as I love and care about slalom, I think it\u2019s always going to feel like home, and I think I\u2019m going to visit a bit. We\u2019ll just see how this feels for this season.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>An Update on Aleksander Aamodt Kilde<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Shiffrin closed the interview with an update on her partner, Norwegian speed skier Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, who could not attend as he is training in South America.<\/strong> She said he is doing \u201creally well\u201d and feels far more comfortable in his body than he did a year ago.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cHe\u2019s learning to function with this new shoulder situation,\u201d she said.<\/strong> \u201cIt\u2019s limiting and it will be limiting forever, but he\u2019s finding a way to work with that, to be strong and to keep getting stronger. I\u2019m so impressed by him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>She said she is looking forward to watching him at the start of the season but also appealed to all her fans and supporters to send good vibes to her fianc\u00e9.<\/strong> \u201cPlease cross your fingers or hold your thumbs or whatever you do for good luck,\u201d she told the crowd, \u201cbecause this man deserves some luck and the ability to really, really enjoy ski racing a little bit longer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- CONTENT END 1 -->\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mikaela Shiffrin at the Atomic Media Day 2026. | Image: SnowBrains Mikaela Shiffrin took the stage at Atomic Media Day in Austria on Friday for her first extended public remarks since announcing a new approach to the 2026-27 season. In the on-stage interview, the American said her team is in a good place, that the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,267],"class_list":["post-2186351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-snowbrains-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2186351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2186351"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2186351\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2186351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2186351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2186351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}