Paris (AFP)
"I want to ski well, which means skiing fast and I know I can do it," said American Mikaela Shiffrin, three-time winner of the Alpine Skiing World Cup, who returns to competition on Saturday. in Levi (Finland), almost ten months after his last race.
"With all that has happened to me, I can not have any particular expectations", admitted the queen of the slalom, after being removed from the circuit last winter by the death of her father, then by the pandemic of new coronavirus.
QUESTION: Are you angry with how the previous season ended?
ANSWER: "I am emotionally tired. I may have been angry at one point, but there is no more room for that now. The pandemic I did not want it, nobody wanted it, we does not control these things there. I was very angry but not because of the end of the season, but because of the death of my father (...) Last winter Federica (Brignone, finally winner of the classification overall) and Petra (Globe Slalom winner Vlhova) have skied really well all season. There's no reason to think these girls don't deserve their titles. "
Q: What do you expect from Levi's two slaloms?
A: "I'm not expecting anything in particular. With everything that has happened to us athletes (the health crisis) and what has happened to me personally I cannot have any special expectations. I want to ski well, this which means to ski fast and I know I can do it. After that I remain a competitor. If everything does not go as planned, I will work even harder for the next time. "
Q: Where are your back problems?
A: "It will surely follow me for the rest of my career. In Sölden (in October for the opening of the season), when I took exams the doctor said to me: + you can make the situation worse if you decide to ski this weekend. But if you take the time to heal and prepare yourself, then you should be perfectly well. + This is a problem that is likely to last, I will have to live with it and I have already lived with a few years. "
Interview during a press point.
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