Petra Vlhova exclusive on her rivalry with Mikaela Shiffrin: "We've been pushing each other to be better and better"

Olympic alpine skiing champion Petra Vlhova believes that both she and Mikaela Shiffrin have benefited from their enduring rivalry.

Since their debut in the sport's elite series in 2012, Slovak star Vlhova has been competing against the most successful skier in World Cup history for more than a decade: “The rivalry between Mikaela and I started when we were young and I still have pictures of us in the junior races,” the 27-year-old said in a recent interview at the Olympic House in Lausanne.

“I remember she was winning with margins of like five seconds and for me it was like, ‘How is this possible?’,” she added.

Vlhova admitted that racing against the US skier has helped to challenge her limits.

“She pushed me and I gave everything from my body to ski better than her,” she offered.

“It’s an honour for me to ski with her and of course it’s difficult, because she’s often in front, especially this season, which was really good for her. Sometimes I am thinking that if she hadn’t been there, maybe I wouldn’t have been able to perform as I did.”

Petra Vlhova: Mikaela Shiffrin was winning all the time before I came out...

Vlhova, who was born in 1995, the same year as Shiffrin, recorded her first FIS World Cup race win in 2015 when the USA skier was already an Olympic champion.

Following the breakout season in 2019-20, the Liptovsky Mikulas has been vying for the top of the podium with Shiffrin, particularly in slalom. They had dominated the discipline from 2017 to 2020, winning a combined total of 28 consecutive races.

"We've been pushing each other to be better and better," 2021 overall Crystal Globe winner Vlhova said.

On the other hand, she thinks her tough competition has motivated Shiffrin to perform at her best: “She was winning all the time and maybe when I came out, she saw somebody who could be faster than her and so she had do something more. So maybe I gave her the motivation to work harder.

"I think the fact that we are fighting and trying our best is good for me, for her, for the sport and for the people watching on TV".

Petra Vlhova: After Olympic gold, I need to find a motivation for another dream

Vlhova revealed that winning Olympic gold at Beijing 2022 was a dream come true, and it may have contributed to her struggle with motivation this season.

"My last dream was to win the Olympic Games and now I need to find the motivation to have another dream, which is not so easy after the big dream that I had achieved," the 27-year-old confessed.

The Slovak failed to win a medal at the 2023 World Championships and only claimed two World Cup victories in the 2022/23 season, her lowest tally since 2019.

However, she managed to finish third in the World Cup overall standings to secure a podium for the fifth consecutive season.

"So now it's about finding a new motivation: I want to ski, I want to enjoy it, I always want to be at the top, to be with the best. So I'll try to do my best and show (my level of) skiing."