Alpine skiing

‘I Felt Confident on My Skis': Mikaela Shiffrin to Compete in 1st Olympic Downhill

Watch Shiffrin's Interview Below

After the final women's downhill training session, Mikaela Shiffrin said she felt "confident" and that she plans to compete in the discipline for the first time in her Olympic career.

"I've been thinking a lot about every section, maybe even overthinking it, but it's just important to use the time we have to visualize it and really see the lines, see my skiing and everything," the two-time gold-medalist told NBC Sports after her practice.

"It's one of four runs of downhill I've had for the past two years so it's just important that I take whatever practice I can get," Shiffrin added. "I felt confident on my skis. I feel like I know where I am in the course and those pieces are pretty good."

She was the 17th-fastest woman down the course in her last practice run and she said times and speeds are "pretty good," even though most of her would-be competitors have had a lot more practice.

"I will try to improve on some things without overdoing it anywhere," Shiffrin said. "I'm just hopeful that it could just be a nice solid result and I think that I have good speed and good opportunity. If anything, it's just important to get another run before the combined."

Shiffrin competed in the super-G event, also her first-ever at the Winter Games, last week and placed ninth overall, after she failed to complete her first runs in the slalom and giant slalom event.

The other events Shiffrin is expected to compete in are the alpine combined and the team head-to-head slalom event.

The women's downhill is set for Monday, Feb. 14, at 10 p.m. EST.

Women's combined - downhill is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 16, at 9:30 p.m. EST and women's combined - slalom is set for Thursday, Feb. 17, at 1 a.m. EST.

The team event will be on Friday, Feb. 18, at 10 p.m. EST.

Copyright NBC New York
Contact Us