Shiffrin admits fears of the Olympics: The feeling of pressure is extremely unpleasant! – Športky.sk

LAUSANNE – American ski star Mikaela Shiffrin has admitted that she is looking at the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing with a bit of anxiety. The three-time overall winner of the World Cup (2017, 2018, 2019) last season focused mainly on the technical disciplines of slalom and giant slalom.

In the new one, which will start a week in Sölden, Austria, she would like to win in the speed ones as well. “Ideally, I’ll go to a program similar to the one I had before the previous season, but we’ll see how it goes.” she was quoted by the AFP agency. “You hope to go to the Olympics, it’s a great event, the pinnacle of a career, and it’s going to be great. And yet the idea is unpleasant.” said Shiffrin.

The 26-year-old racer would like to imitate her performances from this year’s World Championships in Beijing, where she started in four disciplines and ended up on the podium in all of them. To the gold in the combination in which the second Slovak Petra Vlhová finished, she added silver in giant slalom and bronze in slalom and super-G. However, Shiffrin admitted that her form, condition and demanding requirements of the Olympic competitions may force her to change her plan: “I will definitely consider how physically and mentally difficult it will be to start the season with gliding and speed disciplines and how it will develop before the Olympics. The closer we get, the more we will have to evaluate how I am and how I feel.”

According to Shiffrin, the main pitfalls of the games are the Asian scene, Chinese coronavirus measures and unpredictable weather. “As soon as we land, we have a jetlag. Then one day the race, the second training, race, training, race, then two days of training, again the race, two days of training and other races. There is not much time to regenerate and rest. The weather can also change everything. The feeling of pressure is extremely unpleasant. “

• The author: © List
• Source: TASR