Mikaela Shiffrin's Mental Health Win Changed Everything

Mikaela Shiffrin knows what winning looks like, but her biggest victory this season wasn't on the slopes.

The 31-year-old alpine skier is the most decorated in history with 110 World Cup wins, four Olympic gold medals, and 18 Crystal Globe titles. At the end of the 2025-2026 season, she set another record with nine slalom victories in just 10 races.

But all those wins came with crushing pressure. Shiffrin says the hardest moments happened in her hotel room in Cortina, wrestling with how to handle the weight of an entire sport on her shoulders.

She made a risky choice that changed everything.

"Something risky from this season was actually bringing my psychologist into my team with coaches and staff," Shiffrin told Women's Health. She wanted her mental health support fully integrated with her physical training.

The decision terrified her. Would her coaches want to hear the inner workings of her heart? Would being that vulnerable with coworkers backfire?

It didn't. "It paid off a ton," she says.

Opening up about what happens in her head, especially during tough moments, helped her feel unified with her team. The alignment she hoped for became reality.

Shiffrin also discovered smaller tricks that work. Her physical therapist shared research showing sour foods can break anxiety cycles, so she started eating one or two sour gummies before races. It stuck.

Why This Inspires

Shiffrin's vulnerability matters beyond skiing. She showed that asking for help and integrating mental health support isn't weakness—it's strategy. Even the greatest athlete in her sport needed to open up to reach new heights.

Her approach challenges the old model of keeping emotions separate from performance. Real strength meant letting people in, not keeping them out.

The decision came after painful setbacks. In November 2024, she crashed during a giant slalom at the Killington Cup, suffering a puncture wound to her abdomen and severe muscle trauma. Surgery followed, then just two months of recovery before she hit her 100th World Cup win in February 2025.

Now every finish line feels like a celebration. "Every single time that I've crossed the finish line is like, 'Woo! We made it. All of me is here,'" she says.

Shiffrin also leans on her competitors, calling ski racing "a family" where everyone shows up together knowing they're in it as one. That connection grounds her when outside voices get too loud.

Her message is clear: the toughest battles happen in your head, and winning them requires the courage to stop fighting alone.