SAALBACH-HINTERGLEMM, Austria -- Mikaela Shiffrin says she is dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder following a crash in November and will not defend her gold medal in giant slalom at the Alpine skiing world championships.
The American holder of a record 99 World Cup wins suffered a deep puncture wound when she fell in a giant slalom race on Nov. 30 in Killington, Vermont, causing severe trauma to her oblique muscles.
"I'm mentally blocked in being able to get to the next level of pace and speed and putting power into the turns," Shiffrin said in an audio message shared with The Associated Press on Monday. "And that kind of mental, psychological like PTSD-esque struggle is more than I anticipated.
"I figured once we touched ground in Europe and we got a chance to get some repetitive training days, I would be able to improve step by step and sort of the passion and the longing for racing was going to outweigh any fear that I had," she added.
Whatever stabbed Shiffrin in her fall at Killington nearly punctured her abdominal wall and her colon. She told The Associated Press last month that her injury was "a millimeter from pretty catastrophic."
Shiffrin also had a high-speed crash in downhill in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, last season that kept her out for six weeks. She has discussed her fears with a psychologist, said Megan Harrod, Shiffrin's spokeswoman.
On Instagram, Shiffrin wrote: "Honestly, I really didn't anticipate experiencing so much of this kind of mental/PTSD struggle in GS from my injury."
Shiffrin won gold in giant slalom at the last worlds in France 2 years ago
The women's giant slalom is scheduled for Thursday and Shiffrin said it was "soul crushing" not to be able to defend her title.
"Two years ago I was at my top level I've ever skied in GS. It was the most fun I ever had skiing GS," Shiffrin said. "To be here now and not even be able to start, that's pretty heartbreaking."
Shiffrin returned to action last month when she placed 10th in a slalom in Courchevel, France, and is still planning to race the slalom -- her best event -- at worlds on Saturday.
The speeds in slalom are lower than those in giant slalom, so the danger level is not as high.
Shiffrin will enter team combined and pair with Breezy Johnson
By now abandoning the giant slalom, Shiffrin has decided to enter the new team combined event at worlds on Tuesday and will pair with freshly crowned downhill gold medalist Breezy Johnson.
The combined event entails one racer competing in a downhill run and another in a slalom run, with their two times added up to determine the final results.
"I'm not at full capacity, not in giant slalom and not in slalom either," Shiffrin said. "But I feel good enough in slalom."
The other U.S. teams for the event are super-G bronze medalist Lauren Macuga and Paula Moltzan; Lindsey Vonn and AJ Hurt; and Jacqueline Wiles and Katie Hensien.
Vonn wanted to pair with Shiffrin in a skiing 'dream team'
Vonn had campaigned to race with Shiffrin in a "dream team" featuring the two most successful female World Cup skiers of all time. But the U.S. coaching staff selected the pairings based on "season-best results" in both events.
"Why am I not surprised?" Vonn wrote on the social media platform X with a shrug emoji before erasing her posting.
Then Vonn added a new post on X that said: "Always been a team player and I support my team no matter what. I'm not surprised by the decisions made but at least now it's clear that it's not my decision. I have always been supportive and respectful and that will never change," Vonn said, concluding with a Go USA flag emoji.
Shiffrin has a special bond with Johnson
Johnson's downhill victory marked her first win anywhere at this level -- including the World Cup.
"Breezy and I have been racing together since we were 11. We were at Whistler Cup and Topolino together," Shiffrin said, referring to two prestigious junior events. "We've been roommates, competitors, friends... It will be so so cool to bring this full circle."
Johnson recently returned from a 14-month ban for three "whereabouts" violations in anti-doping protocol.
"She knows the mental challenges of this sport better than anyone," Shiffrin said. "She has fought tooth and nail to get here, and now she is World Champion... her journey and grit and determination has inspired the heck out of me."
Shiffrin added that the combined is "like this little glimmer of hope that we can do this and this can be fun. This just might not be so scary."
Shiffrin hopes to return to GS later this month
Shiffrin hopes to return to giant slalom the weekend after worlds on the World Cup circuit in Sestriere, Italy, where two GS races and a slalom are scheduled.
Shiffrin needs one more win to reach a record-extending 100 World Cup victories.
She said that by putting off her GS return off for now it "buys us just a little bit more time to get things a little bit more sorted."