I’m Mikaela Shiffrin - US Alpine Ski Racer, 2014 Olympic Gold Medalist with an eye on The Winter Olympics in 2018. Ask me Anything!

Did you ever french fry when you were supposed to pizza?

yes.... and it is NOT ideal!

They say everybody loves Felix Neureuther because of his personality. In my opinion you're the biggest sweetheart! Who else is everybody's favorite and your personal? Who is life of the party?

Hmmm. life of the party.. there are a ton of fun people on the world cup, felix is great for sure. One of my favorite athletes is sofia goggia. I'd say she's the "life of the party" kind of person

What do you think of slalom Tokyo drift?

I think it's pretty funny! I know the guy who started that account.. went to school with him

1. What part of training for ski racing is the most challenging for you?
2. What is your favorite part of skiing (in racing or outside of racing)?

1. I am not a huge fan of skiing when it is SUPER cold. I usually bundle up a lot but you can only fit so many layers under a spandex race suit!
2. I love skiing in the gates. that's what I fell in love with in the sport, the actual racing part

Are you into any other sports besides skiing? Do you think you could have been competitive in another sport if you had focused your training differently?

I love tennis, and I'm not terrible at it so if I devoted a ton of time to it like with skiing I might be pretty good!

Lindsey Vonn and Maria Riesch are close friends. Lara Gut and Anna Veith look to be close and support each other a lot. Who is your best buddy among top skiers?

I am pretty friendly with most of the girls on the circuit.

Thanks for doing this AMA!

I have one question:

Are there friends on powder days?

haha... I can understand why people say no.. but I think it's nice to have someone to ski with on a powder day!

Whats the best pick up line someone has tried on you?

"Are you a magician, because any time I look at you everyone else disappears".. just kidding no one has said that to me but I wanted to look up cheesy pick up lines just to have an answer for you ;)

Do you like lasagna? And if you do, what kind?

I love lasagna... Barilla has oven-ready lasagna noodles that are super easy and I like a good meat/tomato sauce with my lasagna.. and a LOT of cheese!

Hi Mikaela! Second run at St. Moritz slalom this year was incredible. What's your favorite band or what kind of music do you usually listen to?

I don't know if I have a favorite band... love all kinds of music! classical, pop, some rock, alternative, singer-songwriter.. you name it

What do you like best about Austria? :P

Good luck next season and have a great summer! :)

I think the mountains/nature is beautiful in Austria. also love how many ski racing fans live there

Hi Miki! :) I' m your great fan. I heard that you want to be a doctor in the future like your dad. Is it right? I also want to be a doctor. What kind of specialization will you choose? What kind of music do you listen?

I would be interested in becoming a doctor but I also know how much effort it takes and I'm not sure I would have the time to go to school for it for 8 years.. but I love kids so maybe I would be a pediatrician.. or maybe some kind of surgeon

Hey Mikaela, first I just want to join the litany of people saying congrats on the recent win. We're pretty much the same age so it was very cool to watch you kill it while we were still high school ski racing in Michigan, and watch you continue to rise over the years. At any rate my question is in two parts:

1. Being a pro athlete/globe trotter seems, while incredibly fun, also probably very draining, so what do you do for fun or to relax when you can find a moment?

2. Would one of those things be accompanying me to my college sailing teams formal at the end of April?

Again, congrats on the win(s), ski fast

I like to read, play guitar or piano, sing, go to the movie theater, or watch one of my favorite tv shows (bones or madam secretary)! and thank you for the invite, but I'm gonna be in the middle of my spring training camp!

Did skiing on the east coast during high school affect your technique at all?

yes, some of my most important developmental years were in the east coast where I learned how to race in more rugged conditions that what I saw in Colorado "hero-snow"

I'm an aspiring ski racer competing in the USCSA. I have trouble being consistent in my current state of skiing, what can I do to be more consistent?

keep working on your technique.. consistency comes from a solid stance on your skis

How intense is your training regimen and do you get to hang out in Olympic Village a lot?

My training is quite intense.. normally 2-3 workouts per day in the off season. or if I am on snow I train probably 4-5 hours in the morning, lunch, take a nap, afternoon dryland, video analysis, dinner, and then bed!

Hi Mikaela! I'm a former racer teaching a younger sister to race. I'm a big fan of your skiing and relationship with fans.

How difficult is it to maintain a role model image for young racers and athletes (as you've been doing) despite pressure for female athletes to be beauty models and have a public personal life?

I'm just trying to stay true to myself and hope that I will be a good roll model for the people that have similar interest in me!

Mikaela! Saw you race at Killy, congrats on another successful season!

Question: What is your favorite Ice Coast mountain and why is it Magic?

Probably Burke because I spent so much time there!

Hi Mikaela,

Sometime around the last Olympics you appeared on Wait Wait Don't Tell me, and it ended up being a hilarious show. What are some of your favorite non-skiing appearances like this that you've made?

Wait wait was one of my favorites. it was one of their live shows and we were in a concert venue in Denver and it was PACKED. super cool

What was one of your favorite memories (besides skiing) at BMA?

I loved when there was a really good sunset. I'd sit out on the soccer field with my best friend and watch the sun go down over Willoughby gap

1) do you always read comments to your posts on FB and Twitter? 2) Growing up, who was the skier that inspired you? 3) besides your parents, what are your role models? 4) In Sochi you said the next goal was five gold medals. Does it still stand? 5) are you going to aggressively defend your overall title, or concentrate on Olympics (in other words Lindsey 2010 or Tina 2014?) 6) Have you heard of Harald Harb and his concern regarding your Atomic boot setup? 7) You do a lot of drills. If you could only choose 2, what would it be? 8) "ABFTTB"-do you think you are faster than Marcel?

1. I read a lot of the comments. I like to know what people think of my posts.
2. bode miller
3. roger Federer, serena Williams...
4. that was sort of a joke.. and I did that interview at like 3am after the slalom, so I was pretty delirious.. 5 golds is maybe pretty unrealistic
5. for me it is a combination of both... Olympics is a big focus for sure but I also want to compete well for the other parts of the season

1. How long did you spend on your Taylor Swift instagram videos?

2. Have you seen the Slalom Tokyo Drift "Shiffrin" remix?

3. Gondola and chill?

1. probably 1-2 hours including the video editing
2. yup! the guy who started Slalom Tokyo drift was my brother's roommate in highschool- he's hilarious
3. hah.. no comment!

I am a beginner/intermediate skier. Do you have any mantras you could share that I could repeat to myself as I learn to carve down the mountain?

stay centered on your skis... weight forward.. and outside ski is the boss!

How did you get into skiing? Also, best of luck at The Winter Olympics 2018.

my parents were ski racers and are great athletes. they taught me to ski. my brother is 2.5 years older than I am and he started racing before I did and sort of got me into the sport

Hi Mikaela! Your big fan here (hence my username, haha), thank you for doing this AMA!

I have a few questions. Hopefully, you'll find them interesting:

1. What do you think you (we) can do to promote skiing?
2. How do you handle the jet lag?
3. What goes thru' your mind when you finish a SL race and see a really big lead?
4. What's your favourite Barilla recipe?

Thank you!

1. Keep spreading the word about the sport!
2. Not well! sometimes its better than others but coming back to the us from South Korea this year was TERRIBLE on the jet lag front!
3. normally I am sort of surprised by a big lead, but then I try to take a moment to think about my skiing and figure out if I really skied well enough for that margin.
4. I generally keep it simple with a good tomato sauce, maybe some chicken, garlic, butter!

Hello Mikaela! How many times did you have to record your 22 video?

I probably did 1 or 2 takes of some of the scenes like running down the hall, and then 5-6 takes with different angles of the dancing part with my phisio

What was it like trying to balance school and homework while also participating in ski tournament that were sometimes across the world?

I tried to do most of my school during the summer so I could focus more on skiing during the winter

I could use some courage today. What kind of things give you courage, inspiration, or strength? Kindest regards, and thanks!

Inspirational movies give me courage :)

like Secretariat or Miracle!

whatever you have going on today that you need courage for, I'm sure you will be able do it! Good luck

Mikaela! First off I love you and I try to model my slalom skiing after yours. Have you always been interested in speed disciplines or was it just recently you decided to start competing in them?

I have always loved speed, just wanted to focus on the tech events first!

Did you dye your hair or is this still your natural hair color but somehow lighter than it used to be?

I have gotten some highlights. my hair actually used to be much more blonde naturally, but with all of the skiing and having my head in a helmet it has gotten a bit darker over the years

Hi Mikaela! Curve ball question.. Have you ever sailed before or considered sailing? Do you have any plans to visit the Midwest in the future?

I have windsurfed quite a bit and my uncle had a Catamaran that we used to take out on the lake outside his house

Hi Mikaela! I am a huge fan and I was wondering, how do you prep for a race and why is this way beneficial? Also, do you have any key tips for course inspection?

I make sure to get a good night of sleep.. good food, sometimes I'm too nervous to eat something complicated so I keep it simple, and I will get a good warm up before the race

What is your best impression you can do?

I like to think that I'm pretty good at Adele... but probably I'm not haha

Hi! First of all you are great champion and i amire you so much Mikaela! Im watching every your race and I am particularly impressed by the margin of your wins, they are just ridiculous! So i wonder do you feel sometimes unbeatable in slalom? you have great athletes to fight with but so often you make them ordinary. How does it feel?

I dont feel unbeatable ever.. the more I win the more I feel stressed about being better.. because I feel pressure to win again

Who are some of your favorite music artists? Are there any songs that you listen to while preparing for a race?

the shins, ellie Goulding, Ludovico einaudi, angus and Julia stone, taylor swift...

What was your favorite TV show or movie when you were growing up?

I love 'Friends'...

Hi Mikaela. First I want to say that it is so inspiring to watch you train, ski, win and doing all the media and press things! You are able to pack your carefully selected and profound thoughts and words into life quotes 💭

So my question is: What are your plans (beside hard training) for the next weeks or furthermore for summer? And are you doing something like mentaltraining? Thanks for your time, your patience, your thoughts and words - btw your interviews are TOP - there is always something to laugh #keepitup #keepitgoing 👌

Furthermore, much health, satisfaction, strength and success and many, many moments of happiness. #fingerscrossed ✨ ✨

I am planning to do a ski camp in april and the beginning of may and then I start dryland training for most of the summer

I’m 18 years old and I ski since I am 4, but I have never skied between gates till now, ‘cause my parents didn’t love competition. Unfortunately only now I realized that skiing is too important for me and all I want is to have the possibility to work hard in order to become a professional skier. I know you were already world champion at that age, but do you think there is a chance for me?? Please be sincere.. PS: you are fantastic, an inspiration :).. kisses!!

There is always a chance, it just depends on how hard you are willing to work.. if you are willing to make all the sacrifices to dedicate your life to the sport to be the very best you can be. it also depends what your goals are!

First, congratulations Mikaela for this golden season ! Even though Lindsey Vonn is your teammate, do you secretly (or not) hope to achieve better than what she does/did ? Thanks for doing this AMA !

for sure I am inspired by Lindsey's success, and sometimes I day dream about reaching the kind of success she has, but I know how hard she has worked to get to this level and I just don't know if I can really be that good!

What would you be doing if you weren't skiing? What are some of your biggest interests or hobbies?

maybe playing tennis, probably graduating from college this year.