U.S. Alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin became the youngest person to ever win the slalom, but the feeling is that her Olympic debut is a sign of bigger things to come. Shiffrin seems to agree ... and blurted out a rather bold dream of winning five Olympic medals in 2018.
She shared that star-caliber mixture of moxie and humility with Bob Costas and also the Associated Press in the glow of her gold from Friday.
“I don’t want to push myself too far too fast. Definitely don’t get greedy. But at the same time, I’m a dreamer,” Shiffrin said.
“Right now, I’m dreaming of the next Olympics (and) winning five gold medals, which sounds really crazy,” she said. “I’m sorry I just admitted that to you all.”
MORE: Confidence key for Shiffrin
She might be, as that sets some wild expectations for the skiing wunderkind. That’s part of the tremendous charm with the 18-year-old star, though; she seems like a natural as she puts together technically proficient runs and takes the time to wink at a nearby camera afterward.
On her flight to the Olympics, Shiffrin made a note to herself that “it’s OK to be confident here” and she’s certainly delivered. Now her new goal is simply to do what no other skier has done by sweeping all five Alpine skiing disciplines.
“When I’m done I hope that I can look back and say that I changed the sport, that I was innovative and created a new way of skiing and pushed women’s ski racing to be faster and more athletic and more exciting for people to watch,” Shiffrin said. “And really put on a show.”
She already pulled off that last part.