"I couldn't imagine not trying"- Mikaela Shiffrin makes her feelings known about deciding to come back in this season after devastating injury 

Mikaela Shiffrin opened up about her decision to return to the professional circuit this season after suffering a major injury at the Alpine Skiing World Cup in Killington. The American Alpine skier revealed how she opted to return to compete in this season after seeing her progress during her rehabilitation and recovery process.

The crash at the World Cup had a huge impact on Shiffrin as she suffered from an abrasion on her hip that had restricted her movement. Moreover, she had to undergo surgery to treat a blood clot in her deep puncture wound. The 29-year-old underwent a rehabilitation program and steadily progressed to return to the slopes after recovering from the injury.

In her recent appearance on the show 'We Need to Talk,' Mikaela Shiffrin opened up about her decision to compete this season rather than delaying her return to the next Alpine skiing season. The former World Cup champion revealed that she tracked her rehabilitation progress and decided to take up the challenge to compete this season, hoping to put forth her best performance.

"I think as soon as I kind of realised that there are a lot of checkpoints along the way in this rehab and just kind of okay how's oblique healing, when can I start activating those muscles, working through isometric work and then rotational and all these different checkpoints and as I was working through them we were getting a better gauge about when realistically return to getting on my skis and then potentially back to training and then potentially back to racing," she said. (9:45)

"As it became more clear that physically I might be able to withstand racing again this season, I couldn't imagine not trying, and even though this has been challenging to return, I prefer to be much aware of these challenges than beginning next season," she added.

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Mikaela Shiffrin on competing after overcoming an injury

Mikaela Shiffrin at the Audi FIS Ski World Cup Sestriere 2025 - Source: Getty

Mikaela Shiffrin spoke about returning to compete mid-season after overcoming an injury in an interview with CBC Olympics. The former World Cup Champion revealed it felt a little different as she had a different mindset while competing this time.

While her competitors were aiming to win the title, she hoped to make some positive progress while focusing on her recovery.

"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. That's been really interesting for my team and me," she said.

Furthermore, Shiffrin thanked her team for their constant support throughout her recovery process and for helping her make a fast recovery.