Plans for Saalbach

Shiffrin and the World Championships: A fixed start, but …

Can Mikaela Shiffrin still win World Championship gold after her injury?(Bild: GEPA)

Shortly before the start of the World Ski Championships, Mikaela Shiffrin has outlined her current plans for the major event. Following her injury, she will return to the World Cup in the slalom in Courchevel on Thursday. For the World Championships, nothing stands in the way of a start in the slalom - but the situation looks different in the giant slalom ... 

Unless there is another unforeseen setback, Shiffrin will be competing in the World Championship slalom in Saalbach on February 15. That much is now clear. There has also been speculation recently about further starts. While many assume that the US American will also start in the giant slalom, she herself is now tempering these expectations.

"I'm not 100 percent recovered yet. I still have to work on the scarring and the increased muscle tension in particular," Shiffrin explained to "Ski Racing Media". Accordingly, there are still big question marks over her giant slalom start on February 13. Although, according to the 29-year-old, she is "at least two weeks ahead of her schedule clinically". 

Injury before World Cup win 100
Shiffrin, who currently has 99 World Cup victories to her name, was injured in a fall in the giant slalom in Killington at the end of November. The athlete assumes that she rammed her pole into her abdominal muscle in the accident. "There was a stab wound seven centimeters deep," she said. Complications from her abdominal injury led to a "minor operation" in December.

It was not certain for a long time whether she would be able to tackle the World Ski Championships. But at least in the slalom, the 29-year-old will be able to tackle her hunt for precious metal as planned.