Lausanne (AFP)

The American Mikaela Shiffrin, focused last season on the slalom and the giant after a nightmarish 2020, wants to again combine technical and speed events, including at the Beijing Olympics, she explained on Friday.

"Ideally, I will follow the same program as in the years leading up to last season," the three-time winner of the big globe, 26, who excels in technique but has also won two of her 69, told reporters. World Cup success in downhill and four in Super G.

After a year 2020 without a victory - an unprecedented shortage since 2011 -, marked by the sudden death of her father in February, then by the pandemic and a back injury, the Colorado skier won three successes in early 2021 (one in giant and two in slalom) and has in sight the record of 86 victories set by Sweden's Ingemar Stenmark.

Her successful Worlds last February in Cortina d'Ampezzo (Italy), with four podiums in four races including a combined title, also outline her ambition for the Olympic Games (February 4-20, 2022), where she could win a third consecutive gold medal in slalom.

"I want to compete in each race, if I qualify," announced the champion, specifying nevertheless that it would be necessary to "re-evaluate" her physical and mental state during the season, as the Games are both exhausting and uncertain.

"As soon as you land, there is the jet lag. And then you have to run one day, train the next, run again, train, resort", etc., "all for two or three weeks. if you arrive earlier ", without being able to" plan a lot of recovery ".

In addition, especially on these Chinese slopes that the competitors will discover, "the weather can change everything" and the possibilities of reprogramming are limited.

“So you can do everything right, be rested, ready to go strong, and totally fail for reasons that are beyond your control,” she explained.

Hence the particular "pressure" of the event, she continued, referring to the intense stress confessed by her compatriot, swimmer Caeleb Dressel, after winning her fifth gold medal in Tokyo this summer.

"You're hoping to go to the Games," "the pinnacle" of a sports career, "and yet it's very uncomfortable, the whole way," and "it's kind of a metaphor for my whole career," said the one who struggles to stay "at the top" of her sport.

© 2021 AFP