The redemption arc is now complete. Mikaela Shiffrin finally secured that gold medal in women’s slalom around her neck after eight long years of waiting. There was pressure that haunted her since Beijing, but her win roared above all the crashes, doubts, and the quiet terror of wondering whether she would ever feel like herself again.

In collaboration with Procter & Gamble, EssentiallySports’ Shreya Varma caught up with Mikaela Shiffrin on the ground in Milan, during the Winter Games, for an exclusive conversation covering insights from the global sporting stage. The 30-year-old skiing icon revealed that the fear never really goes away.

“I think I have so much fear. I really feel, you know, I’m afraid to get injured. I’m afraid to feel pain. I’m afraid to fail. So all of these things come into my, you know, mentality. And these are all things that I have to sort of digest and understand on a daily basis,” she said.

This confession comes from a skier who has 108 World Cup victories and other accolades to her name, automatically dismantling the myth of a fearless champion. And Shiffrin’s journey to this Olympic gold medal has been filled with the kind of pain and failure she described.

In November 2024, during a World Cup race in Killington, Vermont, she suffered a horrifying crash that left her with a five-centimeter puncture wound in her abdomen, missing her colon by just one millimeter. The injury required surgery, and while the physical wound healed, PTSD about giant slalom plagued her for the remainder of the season.

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Similarly, the Milan Olympics weren’t very welcoming to the American skier. In the team combined event, Shiffrin, with teammate Breezy Johnson, finished fourth, barely missing out on the podium. In giant slalom, she placed 11th, and the doubts were already looming above her.

Mikaela Shiffrin shared an honest thought, stating, “And I think, you know, for people out there who look at athletes and think we’re all fearless. And we’re all confident. And everything’s perfect. And we show up for our gold medal moment. And we’re ready for it. And you just, I stand in the start gate and I’m good. And there’s no concern. Like I’m actually showing up with all of my fear and my doubt and my uncertainty.”

She added, “And I’ve been trying, this Olympics, I’ve been really trying to accept that. And sort of take it as part of me. And use that as energy to still push forward despite those uncertainties.”

Basically, the skier turned the fear into fuel, and the results were already showing. In the women’s slalom, her gold medal wasn’t another win, but a statement in itself. The margin of victory said it all, as she was 1.5 seconds ahead of silver medalist Camille Rast. However, the aftermath of the victory brought out the true emotions of the 30-year-old.

Mikaela Shiffrin had a slip-up on live TV

Speaking with hosts Hoda Kotb, Craig Melvin, and Carson Daly on the Today show, Shriffin’s emotions got the best of her.

“There’s been, definitely, a spiritual journey the last years that are just― I don’t know. I took the moment, and I just said [expletive],” Shiffrin said during the broadcast. But the reason?

Well, she confirmed during a conversation with Kylie Kelce, saying, “I am not going to lie, winning an Olympic gold medal, having your first espresso martini, and then doing morning talk shows the next morning, like kind of a tough combination and usually leads to swearing on national live television.”

However, the hosts got her back, as Kotb said, “We got you! We’ll pay the fine,” referencing the FCC broadcasting rules. Melvin also added, “We know what you meant. We know what you meant. You’re wearing gold! It’s okay. It’s okay. She’s just like us!”

In simple terms, Shiffrin’s willingness to speak openly about fear, failure, and her journey of self-acceptance offers a gift to many who may only see the podium.