Shiffrin goes off-script with an exploratory shift in focus

Mikaela Shiffrin is embracing an off-script approach in what the ski racer has dubbed her "exploration season".

That includes on the mountain, where the three-time Olympic champion will prioritize training in giant slalom and super-G over her signature slalom event. It also extends to the microphone, with her plan to be even more free-flowing in interviews on her What's the Point podcast.

It's just a way to feed her curiosity as she enters her 16th season on the World Cup circuit and second hosting her show. In her eyes, a speedy race and a seamless podcast have a common thread — cadence.

"When I'm skiing my best, it feels like a dance," Shiffrin wrote in an email to reporters as her 12-episode podcast kicked off Wednesday and featured media personality and fellow podcaster Kylie Kelce.

"The turns link together and I stop thinking about them. A great episode has a similar rhythm. One question flows into the next, I might go 'off script' — it just feels natural and not forced. Then, afterward, the guest says something like, 'that was such a fun conversation, let's talk again soon.' That's my version of seeing green (signifying the fastest time) at the finish."

From now until March, Shiffrin will feature episodes in which she interviews top names from around the sports world, including figure skater Ilia Malinin, rugby player Ilona Maher, tennis great Iga Swiatek and sportscaster Mike Tirico. The theme is what drives them toward success.

It's a question she's pondered, too.

The six-time overall World Cup champion will focus her attention more on the GS and super-G this season. Sure, she will still compete in slalom, her top event. But she wanted to branch out after a season in which she won nine of 10 World Cup slalom events, alongside capturing gold at the Milano-Cortina Olympics.

It's a little bit of a scary decision, "because the safe choice was obvious," the 31-year-old from Colorado said.

"I was coming off a successful slalom season, and, if you only look at results, staying focused on slalom made the most sense," she added. "But, after 16 years on the World Cup (circuit), I felt a real curiosity pulling me toward GS and super-G, and I've learned to trust that feeling. Making peace with it came from being clear with myself about why I was doing it. It's not about caring less or working less. It's about recovering better, training with more intention, and racing slalom when I'm prepared for it. Slalom isn't going anywhere."

Shiffrin and her fellow racers push out of the start gate on Oct 24 with a giant slalom competition in Soelden, Austria. Shiffrin said her first slalom race will be in Killington, Vermont, over Thanksgiving weekend.

"I'm keeping the door open," Shiffrin said of her racing plans.

"We're calling this the exploration season, and I think that framing is what let me exhale."

As for podcasting, she's finding her groove. Last season, her guests included her fiance, Norwegian ski racer Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, and gymnast Simone Biles, winner of seven Olympic gold medals.

"I learned that listening is a skill you train, just like skiing," said Shiffrin, whose podcast launched in October 2025.

"In season one, I'd sometimes be so focused on getting to my next question that I'd miss the best thing a guest said. So, in season two, I'm prepping less of a script and more of a direction. I also learned that I don't need to be the expert in the room."

Her plans going forward — and leading into the 2030 Winter Olympics in the French Alps — remain fluid, in both racing and podcasting.

"Whether I'm in the start gate, in the crowd cheering on former competitors and teammates, or even hosting live episodes of What's the Point, I'll tackle it with the same passion and curiosity I bring today," Shiffrin said. "What I can promise is that as long as I'm skiing, it'll be because I want to, not because I feel I have to."