Mikaela Shiffrin, an American, will not compete in the downhill when the Alpine Ski World Cup season begins later this month, her representative told Reuters on Friday.
Shiffrin, who has 97 World Cup victories, missed several weeks after damaging her knee in a high-speed fall in January while competing in the World Cup downhill in Cortina d’Ampezzo.
Megan Harrod, her representative, highlighted the tough downhill training program as a deciding factor, with the two-time Olympic gold medalist opting for slalom, giant slalom, and super-G instead.
“The amount of time downhill training takes is just too much to do the discipline justice,” Harrod pointed out.
Shiffrin made history by winning her 87th career World Cup in March 2023, breaking retired Swedish great Ingemar Stenmark’s record, which had stood since 1989.
She told the Associated Press that following the January collision, she momentarily considered quitting from the sport but would explore reintroducing downhill racing into her schedule in the future.
Shiffrin’s record career haul of 97 World Cup victories was extended in March with a pair of triumphs to cap up the previous season.
The Alpine Ski World Cup season starts on October 26 at Soelden, Austria.
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