- - Mikaela Shiffrin Questioned If She'd Ever Return to Racing After Her 2024 Crash: 'Can I Get Myself to a High Enough Level?' (Exclusive)

Skyler CarusoJanuary 8, 2026 at 12:00 AM

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Harry How/Getty; Joseph Prezioso / AFP via Getty

Mikaela Shiffrin in 2025, and in 2024 after crashing at the Women's World Cup -

Mikaela Shiffrin spoke with PEOPLE exclusively about her "comeback" mentality following her November 2024 crash as she prepares for the Milan Winter Olympics

The decorated skier admitted that she questioned her return to giant slalom after the crash

She also spoke about her love for United Airlines and how it makes travel convenient for her as a top-tier athlete who competes on mountains all over the world

Mikaela Shiffrin has her eye on the prize.

The decorated skier isn't letting her injury slow her down; rather, she's using it as motivation to keep her winning momentum alive now that she's a little over a year in recovery and one month away from the 2026 Winter Olympics.

However, that mindset wasn't always the case for Shiffrin, who suffered a violent crash during a giant slalom (GS) Women's World Cup race in November 2024 that resulted in a five-centimeter deep puncture wound to her abdomen, just one millimeter shy of her colon.

Not only did her physical and mental health take a toll, but the two-time Olympic gold medalist tells PEOPLE exclusively that her return to giant slalom was in question.

Joseph Prezioso / AFP via Getty

Mikaela Shiffrin getting taken away by ski patrol after crashing in the 2024/2025 Women's World Cup Giant Slalom

"When I was returning last year and I was on the cusp of losing my standings in GS, that was the question. Can I get myself to a high enough level to earn the World Cup points to keep my standings or not?" she says. "Because if I don't, that might be the end of my GS career."

"I don't know that I have it in me to work all the way back from that place again," she admits of her thought process at the time.

Shiffrin, who spoke with PEOPLE on behalf of her partnership with United Airlines, explained the complexities of coming back from an injury in professional skiing, revealing that it goes beyond just the physical capabilities.

The World Cup point system, she explains, plays a pivotal part.

"When you don't race World Cups due to injury, you can freeze your World Cup points. World Cup points is what allows you to have a good bib number, which is what gives you a priority start number," she says.

Ezra Shaw/Getty

Mikael Shiffrin races down the slope during the first run of women's giant slalom during the PwC Tremblant World Cup 2025 at Mont Tremblant on Dec. 7, 2025.

"When you return from an injury, your points unfreeze and you lose the injury status. You're racing again, but you need to be accumulating World Cup points," adds Shiffrin, who had also suffered a sprained MCL and tibiofibular ligament in her left knee after a downhill crash in January 2024.

Shiffrin came back from that January injury two months later, no surgery needed — but her November crash was a different story.

Jure Makovec / AFP via Getty

Mikaela Shiffrin on the podium of the women's slalom on Jan. 4, 2026.

"Because of my injury two seasons ago, I returned to World Cup racing, but for the end of the season, I only raced slalom. I didn't even try to race GS because I didn't have time to practice GS," she shares. (World Cup season typically spans late October/November through March).

"I was not thinking I was going to have another injury last season, and that would take me out of GS again," she adds of her November 2024 injury. "I was basically on the very edge of being knocked out of the top 30... and that's a severe disadvantage."

However, in true Shiffrin fashion, she conquered and overcame. She's achieved several top spots since returning to the event that cost her a puncture wound; and, most recently, finished 5th place in Kranjska Gora on Saturday, Jan. 3.

She's been busy flying all over the world to ski and rack up World Cup points — which is where her partnership with United comes in. Shiffrin notes that as a United MileagePlus Card Member, her boots and skis fly free as one checked back, which "makes accessibility to the mountains a lot easier."

And while the winningest alpine skier of all time admits she's not yet "back to top speed" in giant slalom, she certainly is in slalom, with a six-time World Cup winning streak to start the season (and 106 World Cup career wins total).

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Jure Makovec / AFP via Getty

Mikaela Shiffrin celebrates on the podium of the Women's Slalom as part of the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup 2025-2026 on Jan. 4, 2026.

"There wasn't as much of a mental hurdle to get back to top speed in slalom," she tells PEOPLE. "I haven't won a GS yet this season or since my crash last year, but slalom is very different."

Now, Shiffrin is envisioning standing on a podium with hardware around her neck as she dreams of the 2026 Winter Games in Milan next month.

"Medals are on my mind," she tells PEOPLE exclusively. "I'm sort of in the mix of a comeback season and a full gas season... I'm trying to just ride the wave and almost don't ask questions and just keep going out and working on it."

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