KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — Mikaela Shiffrin was here a year ago for a U.S. training camp on the Olympic courses, and when she got here Friday night, she was shocked by how much construction work has been completed since.
“It’s so amazing how hard they worked to pull this thing off,” Shiffrin said Saturday. “Last year, basically all there was was our hotel and the ski lifts. This is huge, and it’s all kind of reality to me now.”
Shiffrin remained in central Europe when the Olympic Games began so she could focus on training. On Saturday, she did a “walk-about” here for the “Today” show. While her teammates raced downhill and super combined — events Shiffrin does not yet compete in — Shiffrin encountered heavy wet snow in the Alps while training in giant slalom and slalom.
“We had to shovel the courses, it ended up being really rutted,” Shiffrin said. “What I’m hearing is that, since it’s so warm here, it’s going to be kind of rutted conditions, so it’s perfect to get to train on that.”
Shiffrin, 18, races in the giant slalom Tuesday and slalom Friday.
