Mikaela Shiffrin Shares the Taylor Swift Songs on Her ‘Pump Up Playlist’ & Her Reaction to the Singer’s Response to Her Olympics Win (Exclusive)
Jason Pham
It’s been three months since she won gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics, but Mikaela Shiffrin isn’t even thinking about the 2030 games.
“I have no idea how to even imagine if I’ll be racing by the time the next Olympics rolls around,” Shiffrin tells StyleCaster while promoting her partnership with Barilla, which recently launched its new Racing Wheels pasta shape inspired by F1.
“But I don’t think it’s out of the question,” Shiffrin continues. “I don’t necessarily plan on racing for the next four years, but I also don’t plan not to, if that makes sense. I’ll continue as long as I feel inspired by improvement. I could see that being something that shifts over the next few years, as I start to think about family and other things in life.”
The Olympics also aren’t on Shiffrin’s mind as she focuses on the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup season, which is set to start in the fall. “The Olympic cycle is so intriguing because it really does take up so much focus, time, and effort to compete,” Shiffrin says. “But outside of that, our World Cup season is going from October til March. We’re racing two to three times per week. It’s so intensive that it really is the center of our world for most alpine ski racers. Then the World Championships are every two years. Then the Olympics come around, and it’s like, ‘Alright, we can put this on. Zip over there. Bam, bam, bam, and then return to our regularly scheduled programming.’”
Along with winning gold in the women’s slalom at the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics, Shiffrin also walked home with a new best friendship with Olympic figure skater Ilia Malinin. “He is the sweetest. I got to ask him some of the stuff that was going on at the games that I don’t think he’s even said publicly, and he probably won’t,” she says. “It’s just all of the variables that are out of your control, and how to adapt to those things. We also just laughed a ton. He is so easy to laugh with.”
Beyond their fun times together, Shiffrin also respects Malinin, who also won a gold medal at the Milano Cortina Olympics, as an athlete. “I have so much respect for him for what he does on ice, the way he portrays himself, and the way he creates a show,” she says. “But I just also really respect how he wants to push the sport despite the risks involved. That’s incredible, and something that’s very brave.”
Shiffrin also walked away from the Milano Cortina Olympics with millions of new fans, including Taylor Swift, who commented on an Instagram post from the Olympics in February in which Shiffrin quoted the lyrics from Swift’s song, “Ruin the Friendship.” “HISTORIC,” Swift wrote along with multiple gold medal emojis. “It was sweet. I just felt like that song was the perfect vibe for how I felt in that race. Just ruin the friendship, take the risk. Just do it,” she says.
As for other Swift songs she listens to before competing, Shiffrin named a song from Midnights as one of her “top” tracks. “‘Ruin the Friendship’ was one [song I listened to before competing] this year. And ‘Life of a Show Girl.’ I love that album. ‘Karma’ is also on my pump up playlist. ‘Karma’ is probably one of the top,” she says.
Shiffrin has worked with Barilla since her first World Cup podium when she was a teenager and has returned to the brand time and again to fuel her before competitions. “The message, since the beginning, is this idea of togetherness. This idea of family and the great conversation, mood, and connection you can build out of a plate of pasta,” she says.
