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But as ski racing is exposed to the elements and whims of Mother
Nature, a race can be decided on something as simple as the luck
of the draw. Over the course of an Alpine World Cup season, that
good and bad fortune tends to balance out.
At an Olympics you get one shot and everything has to go right
in that moment and for Shiffrin that hasn't always been the
case.
"I really don't like the idea that my results are based off luck
but sometimes that plays more of a role than others and that's
definitely the case at the Olympics," Shiffrin told reporters on
Friday during call from Soelden, Austria, where she is preparing
for the start of a new World Cup campaign next weekend.
"At the end of the day you can make every move right, you can be
rested, ready to go, strong and it can still be totally messed
up for reasons that are completely out of your control.
"I don't really love that because I tend to be super controlling
over everything that is happening in my life so it is sort of
like nails on a chalkboard to me. "It's more like gambling than
racing."
Still, there will be few betting against Shiffrin adding to her
Olympic haul at next year's Beijing Winter Games where she has
plans of competing in every Alpine event.
Shiffrin already has a pair of Olympic titles, winning slalom
gold at the 2014 Sochi Olympics and the giant slalom at the 2018
Pyeongchang Games.
And while double-Olympic champion has a nice ring to it, the
results are less than expected from a ski racer who has six
world championship titles, 69 World Cup wins and three overall
World Cup crystal globes.
The 2021-22 campaign is shaping up as the season of big dreams
for the 26-year-old American, who is eager to reassert herself
as the sport's dominant athlete after more than a year of being
slowed by back injuries, COVID-19 disruptions and the sudden
death of her father last February.
Asked whether another overall World Cup title or Olympic medals
would mean more, a thoughtful Shiffrin weighed up her choices
before leaning more towards an overall title since that would
rely more on performance rather than luck.
"That is something I am dreaming about being able to compete in
every event in China," said Shiffrin. "Another big dream is to
get back to the place where I am a contender for the overall.
"If I could flash forward to the end of the season I'd be far
more disappointed if I had essentially skied slow or not stacked
up for any of the World Cup races, but somehow won an individual
or multiple medals at the Olympics.
"Luck sways the Olympic results so much more than it does in any
normal World Cup or when you look at the results for throughout
an entire season."
(Reporting by Steve Keating in Toronto. Editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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