To win gold, Mikaela Shiffrin needed to hear these words

MILAN — A gold medal hung around her neck and an invisible burden was lifted from her shoulders when Mikaela Shiffrin walked into an NBC studio Friday afternoon.

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Two days earlier, Shiffrin, 30, won her first Olympic gold medal since 2018 in giant slalom. Most athletes go through their lives without winning an Olympic medal. But since Shiffrin became the youngest skier to win an Olympic gold medal in slalom in 2014, expectations have been different for her. She has since become the winningest skier in World Cup history. Yet his eight years without a medal since his last Olympic medal had become as central to his resume as his victories.

Shiffrin, who grew up playing the sport in Edwards, Colo., just outside Vail, celebrated her slalom gold this week in part with an espresso martini, a celebratory drink that she said was her first in two years.

Shiffrin spoke with NBC News about her need for daily structure, what she tells herself — and what she needs her friends and family to tell her — to be at her best on the course and mountain that matters most to her.

These questions and answers have been edited and condensed for clarity.

NBC News: You said you hadn’t really had a drink in two years before that espresso martini, which made me think about the discipline you exercised. I wonder if there are other things that you, to give yourself an advantage, have cut out of your life over the last few years to prepare for these games.

Shiffrin: I don’t know if there’s anything else that I’ve really cut out of my life in the sense that I’ve really stayed away from alcohol, but I think the discipline is sort of in some sort of structure and consistency, doing all of these things. We talk about preparing our whole lives, but what does that actually mean? And it’s like showing up every day, getting up early to warm up when you go skiing, in the mountains. But you also need to go to the gym every day, even when you have other things to do, and even when your family has a birthday and you’re traveling abroad.

Being consistent over the years and years is what allows you to do 47 seconds of very good slalom skiing twice. That’s where discipline comes in. And then alcohol, kind of, puts that aside – mainly because every time I have a glass of something, I get sick. Maybe it’s my own immune system, but I just thought, hmm, there’s a pattern.

NBC News: Now that it’s over, are there things you’re looking to indulge in, whether it’s how you spend your time or what you eat?

Shiffrin: I think I’m still in a very disciplined mindset because we still have the rest of the World Cup season. The next race is in I think a little less than two weeks, so I have a bit of a whirlwind to celebrate that thing (winning a gold medal) and then basically I get right back on the snow and train for the upcoming competitions because I have six more World Cup races left at the end of the season and I’m leading the overall standings right now, so there’s something to fight for. So I’m always in a disciplined state of mind.

I joke about the espresso martini but I really only had one the other night. I Really I went crazy, you know! I like to feel structure and feel like I have something to work towards every day, so at some point in my life I will no longer have ski racing to provide that structure and I will have to find something else. But for now, I also want the discipline that this sport offers.

NBC News: On Instagram you posted mantras that you published (on post-its around his house in Cortina d’Ampezzo). Is there a specific mantra you always say to yourself right before you walk out the door?

Shiffrin: In the World Cup, I always have two technical clues. In slalom and giant slalom, they are different from each other; also in speed which can be different. But right now in slalom, it’s just those two things, and I don’t know if that means anything to anyone (non-skiers). It’s “ankles and knees, punch and push.” And it doesn’t really mean anything to anyone else, but to me it helps put me in a really good frame of mind.

But at these Olympics, I felt like I needed a lot more external cues. I told my team throughout the games, “These are the things I think about, these are what make me nervous, and I need you to continue to remind me of that mentality.” Keep reminding me of inspiration, won’t you? Basically, focus between start and finish, on the necessary turns between start and finish. That’s where these mantras that I stuck on my mirror come from. I don’t normally do this, but I felt like I needed a little external cue, so my team and these mantras have been super, super helpful.

NBC News: Are there things you’ve asked your team to tell you on a daily basis?

Shiffrin: Remind me that despite the fear, I still want to feel connected and powerful. They heard me talk about the different feelings I’ve had with my best skiing over the years so they could remind me. Someone would say, “Free yourself.” Someone would say, “Break the chains.” Most of my mantras come from my mom, actually, they’re things she’s told me, technically, about skiing, and also about mentality over the years. Usually it’s: “The more nervous you feel, the more intensity you want to have in your tricks.” » So, something I was also thinking about was, “The louder the heartbeat, the bigger the heart.” » It was a different story on slalom day.

NBC News: You can ski on a mountain for the rest of your life. Where and why?

Shiffrin: (Pause) I don’t think I can choose! Really not. I can’t. I can’t do it! I’m sorry. I set a limit, no, I won’t, I won’t choose. There are too many incredible mountains.

NBC News: I’m going to reframe it. What is the most important mountain for you?

Shiffrin: Home. In Colorado, all the mountains are spectacular, but…I’m just not home very often. I travel probably 10 months a year, so I’m home for 10 days here and eight days there and maybe two weeks some other time, and then when I can just ride the chairlift with my mom and my brother and my sister-in-law, it’s maybe once a year, we can do that, but those are really precious moments.