Being 29 and 'Retired'? The Truth About My Future

Welcome to Season 3, everyone! 0:00 Preseason Camp in Chile 0:44 Legacy Discussion 3:15 Jeff Shiffrin Athlete Resiliency Fund 4:18 Why Support Matters 6:23 Share Winter Foundation 8:51 Heading to Sölden 9:40 The Season Kick Off! Nina and Katie's Awesome Runs 12:39 End of My Second Run :( 12:59 Race Day Mentality I was so optimistic going into the season last year, with a new head coach and really good energy with the group. The season started out strong, but we encountered some unexpected hurdles in January, when Aleksander got torn apart in Wengen…watching this on TV, seeing him airlifted, rushing with my family to meet him at the hospital, and then finally seeing him as he was waking up hours later…I don’t even know how to explain this, but it made me want to burn down the universe. I returned a few days later to Flachau, thinking “if you’re going to be here now, instead of with him, then you better make it worth it.” A couple of weeks later, I stepped into the start gate in Cortina d’Ampezzo, home of the 2026 Olympics. This is a venue I typically love, but I did have a couple of scary moments on the course during the downhill training runs. On race day, I crashed into the net and sprained my MCL and tibiofibular ligament, and aggravated a bone bruise I had sustained in my left leg earlier in the season. I was out for six weeks, working with my physio Regan super intentionally to rehab and get to a point where I felt comfortable competing again, returning to World Cup competition in Are, Sweden and focusing on slalom for the last couple of races in the season. During this time we also had some unexpected staffing changes with my YouTube channel, so episode three was entirely filmed by me as we pivoted to have an episode that came from my perspective focusing on my comeback. I was excited to finish the season off with a solid video+editing team for the final episode sharing what motivates and drives me. The work in and itself—all of the time on snow, video analysis, all of the work, motivates me. All of that goes together to put me at my best level. That's the motivating piece...not a record, or a result or some accolade that I want to achieve before the end of my career. It's just simply doing this thing as well as I can. When I'm struggling to feel motivated, one of the things that gets me going is remembering how much work my staff does. Our motivation...I would say it plays off of each other. It's this ping-pong back and forth that keeps us all motivated, keeps us all on our toes...keeps us striving for more. And so, as we head into this new World Championships season, I’m hopeful to continue to build on the momentum we created at the end of last season. This season, you can expect some insight into the mental preparation and how I approach the sport, the “why” beyond the mountain, the notion of legacy, rivalries and why they’re so important for the sport, insight into how I structure my schedule for a big event, and more. Thank you all for your support and much love, Miki Directed and Produced By: Megan Harrod Shot By: Max Hall Edited By: Aaron Springston Sponsored By: Stifel Financial Special Thanks To: Share Winter Foundation FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA Like me on Facebook: https://bit.ly/3VV3BAd Follow me on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3FuPk6p Follow me on Instagram: http://bit.ly/3YvJ32Q Check out my Komi: https://bit.ly/4fLTyYa SyncID: MB01WFPZKSDUWSY