"Feeling a little bit miraculous"- Mikaela Shiffrin makes her feelings known about overcoming injury and winning team combined event

Mikaela Shiffrin expressed her thoughts about overcoming an injury and returning to the circuit mid-season. The American Alpine skier suffered a devastating crash early in the Alpine skiing season at the World Cup Killington, which led to an abrasion in her hip.

Shiffrin had to undergo surgery about a week after the crash as the wound vac was unable to drain the fluid to accelerate her recovery. After going through a rehabilitation program for about six weeks, the American athlete returned to the slopes to compete in the Alpine skiing season once again during the World Championships.

The 29-year-old spoke about returning to the slopes during the World Championships post injury in an interview with CBS Olympics. Mikaela Shiffrin revealed how the recovery was a gradual journey, and it was challenging to manage both athletic performance and recovery.

Furthermore, she shed light on becoming the first-ever World Champion in the new Alpine team combined event after teaming up with Breezy Johnson.

"It's a funny place to be like returning mid-season from an injury but then also kind of returning during world championships, where the world is, you know, ready for medals and I'm like you know, I want to take steps and you know manage the athletic performance side from just the basic recovery side of it," she said.

"That's been really interesting for my team and me. But in the end just to be here, it has been, I know it's easy to say that but just to be here is feeling a little bit miraculous and to walk away with a gold medal with Breezy is insane and then to be twice as good as I was in Courchevel, it's sort of it's these step by step pieces that I think I can be proud of," she added.

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Mikaela Shiffrin on the aftermath of the crash

Mikaela Shiffrin at the Audi FIS Alpine World Ski Championships - Women's Slalom - Source: Getty

Mikaela Shiifrin opened up about the aftermath of the crash in an interview with BBC. The American athlete shed light on the aspect of receiving flashbacks of the crash, a topic which is not talked about too often.

The 29-year-old expressed how after undergoing a rehabilitaion program and when she returned to the slopes, there were moments when should get the visuals of crashing in her mind. She revealed that even though everything looks fine externally upon return, a skier still faces a lot of struggles before getting back to normal.

"From the outside you look fine, you're back skiing again - but you're not OK yet. I've been experiencing that more than I ever did, or ever imagined, with giant slalom in particular," she said.

"Sometimes I'll get a random vision of crashing. It might not be the Killington crash, it could be the course in front of me, that I have this random vision that I'm in the nets again and something else is stabbing through me," she added.

Despite all the struggles, Mikaela Shiffrin expressed her confidence to put forward her best performance in the upcoming races of the Alpine skiing season.