(Reuters) – Mikaela Shiffrin said on Thursday she will resume her chase for a milestone 100th World Cup win next week in Courchevel, France two months after a crash in a giant slalom race left her with a puncture wound in her left abdomen.
Speaking on NBC’s “Today” show, the twice Olympic gold medallist said she does not yet feel 100% but is pain free ahead of the Jan. 30 World Cup slalom race in Courchevel.
“I think the next step is racing. That’s the next step of this recovery,” Shiffrin told “Today”. “So the recovery is not really over, but I’m strong enough to get back in the start gate and that’s the next phase of this progression.”
Shiffrin also posted a video to her social media accounts on Thursday that showed her working out in a gym and back on the slopes. The video closed with a frame that read: “Courchevel 1/30 … See you soon.”
The 29-year-old American had the fastest opening run during a giant slalom race last November in Killington, Vermont and looked headed for victory before a crash.
With the finish line in sight, Shiffrin caught an edge that sent one ski flying as she tumbled and crashed into the safety netting and, after remaining down for several minutes, was then transported off the hill on a rescue sled.
Shiffrin suffered an abdominal puncture and severe muscle trauma in the crash and two weeks later had surgery to clean out the wound.
“I think we’re going to be dealing with sort of the remnants of this injury throughout the rest of the season. But it’s not painful,” Shiffrin said on the “Today” programme.
“My muscles are working again. I’ve been able to get my strength built back up. So I’m in a really good place physically.”
Shiffrin began the season needing three wins to reach the century mark on the World Cup circuit and set herself up to accomplish the feat on home snow with back-to-back slalom victories in Finland and Austria last November.
She established herself as the most successful Alpine skier in World Cup history, male or female, when she topped retired Swedish great Ingemar Stenmark’s decades-old record of 86 World Cup victories in March 2023.
The closest woman on the all-time list is Lindsey Vonn with 82.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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