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Shiffrin to shift focus from slalom to giant slalom and super-G this season
Коротко
Mikaela Shiffrin said she will shift her focus away from slalom this season toward training for giant slalom and super-G, describing the year as an “exploration season.” The World Cup season opens Oct. 24 with a giant slalom in Soelden, Austria, and Shiffrin said her first slalom is expected at Killington, Vt., over Thanksgiving weekend. She is coming off a season in which she won her second Olympic slalom gold and a ninth World Cup slalom season title.
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Mikaela Shiffrin will shift her focus from slalom this season and turn more of her attention toward training for giant slalom and super-G events, according to reports from the Associated Press, Reuters and The Boston Globe. The Boston Globe reported that she announced the strategy Tuesday and described it as a season of “exploration.” [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Shiffrin is a two-time Olympic slalom champion. The Boston Globe reported she is coming off a season in which she won her second Olympic slalom gold at the Milan Cortina Games and earned her ninth World Cup season title in the discipline. She is a former New Hampshire resident and a Burke Mountain Academy alum, the Globe reported. [ 3 ]
The season kicks off on Oct. 24 with a giant slalom race in Soelden, Austria, the Globe reported. Shiffrin said her first slalom race is expected to be in Killington, Vt., over Thanksgiving weekend, and that she will proceed from there. [ 3 ]
“I’m not trying to do less because I care less. I’m trying to do something different because I still care SO much,” the 31-year-old Shiffrin said in a statement, according to the Globe. “The joy for me has never been about medals or records. This season is an exploration. We’re calling it the exploration season.” [ 3 ]
Shiffrin said racing slalom underprepared would be “like jumping into a giant blender and just trying to avoid the blades,” and added that she is “not looking for less commitment” or “even less effort.” She also said, “I feel ambitious. I still feel competitive. I feel like I have a desire to ski fast.” [ 3 ]
The Globe reported that last season Shiffrin won her sixth overall World Cup title by 87 points over Emma Aicher of Germany, and won the slalom crystal globe by beating Camille Rast of Switzerland. In the giant slalom standings she was fourth, and she finished outside the top 30 in super-G. Her last World Cup win in super-G, an event that blends the speed of a downhill with the turns of a GS, was in December 2022; she won a downhill event in 2023, according to the Globe. [ 3 ]
Почему это важно
Shiffrin is one of the most recognized athletes on the World Cup circuit, so a change in her discipline mix affects the shape of the slalom and giant slalom fields this season. The documents give no basis for consequences beyond her own schedule and results.
Ключевые факты
- Shiffrin plans to shift her focus from slalom to training for giant slalom and super-G this season. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- She described the season as an “exploration season.” [ 2 , 3 ]
- The season opens Oct. 24 with a giant slalom in Soelden, Austria. [ 3 ]
- Shiffrin said her first slalom race is expected to be in Killington, Vt., over Thanksgiving weekend. [ 3 ]
- She is a two-time Olympic slalom champion and won her second Olympic slalom gold at the Milan Cortina Games. [ 3 ]
- Last season she won her sixth overall World Cup title by 87 points over Emma Aicher of Germany, and took the slalom crystal globe ahead of Camille Rast of Switzerland. [ 3 ]
- She finished fourth in the giant slalom standings and outside the top 30 in super-G last season. [ 3 ]
Подтверждено несколькими источниками
Пока неясно
- Her competition schedule beyond the planned Killington slalom has not been set out. Only the Boston Globe article addresses this, and it says only that she will proceed from there.
- How many slalom races, if any, she will enter this season is not stated. The documents mention only a first slalom expected at Killington.
- Where the announcement was made is not given in the documents. No document states a location for the announcement.
Что пишут местные СМИ
Хронология, местное время
- The Associated Press reports Shiffrin plans to shift focus from slalom to giant slalom and super-G events this season. [ 1 ]
- Reuters reports Shiffrin will switch focus away from slalom in an “exploration” season. [ 2 ]
- The Boston Globe publishes her statement and details of the planned season. [ 3 ]