2026 Winter Olympics freestyle skiing: Mikaela Shiffrin reveals Breezy Johnson text that changed her mindset before slalom gold

Mikaela Shiffrin was smiling when she talked about the message that stayed with her before one of the biggest races of her life. On February 18 at the 2026 Winter Olympics, Mikaela Shiffrin won the gold medal in slalom.

It was a huge moment. But just days before that race, she was not thinking about medals. She was thinking about a text from her teammate and friend Breezy Johnson. In an exclusive chat with PEOPLE, Mikaela Shiffrin shared that Breezy Johnson kept sending her random messages during the week. They were simple. They were sweet. And they were real.“[Breezy] had this incredibly helpful comment. She kept randomly texting me throughout the week and saying, ‘Don’t forget you’re amazing!’ ” Mikaela Shiffrin told PEOPLE.But one message stood out more than the rest.“She told me, ‘Remember that if you’re not happy without a medal, you won’t be happy with a medal… because happiness comes from cats,’ ” Shiffrin said. “And it was just like, this perfect, uplifting… But the message is real. That this medal is not going to bring you happiness. So kind of figure your life out before that.” That line made her pause. And it changed how she looked at everything.

Mikaela Shiffrin says Breezy Johnson cat videos and honest texts helped her win slalom gold at 2026 Winter Olympics

Mikaela Shiffrin explained that once she really thought about Breezy Johnson’s words, she felt calm. She understood that her life was already full, with or without a medal.“When I thought introspectively, I realized there is so much in my life that makes me happy outside of this medal, and I can honestly say I’m prepared to go through this Games and not earn a medal, but I’m not prepared to go through this Games and not put out the best slalom skiing that I can,” she told PEOPLE.

“So we went, we trained, we got the tools in our belt for that one scenario out of 100 that could happen, and in the end, the slalom day was perfect and beautiful and it was a dream come true.

”The Olympics did not start perfectly for her. On February 10, she and Breezy Johnson were favorites in the women’s team combined event. Johnson had a strong run. But Shiffrin struggled, and they finished fourth.Five days later, she placed 11th in giant slalom.

That was another tough day.Still, she did not panic. She went back to training. She learned from what went wrong.“The Olympic experience just slammed me over the face in the best way,” she said. “And on the team combined day… It was a very, very big learning experience. There were several things about the conditions in the course that really threw me off… And so we went back out and trained.”Breezy Johnson also told PEOPLE earlier that she sends Shiffrin videos of her cats, including Nugget and Wolf. The jokes were light. But the support was serious.In the end, on February 18, Mikaela Shiffrin delivered. She skied her best race and she won gold in slalom. And she did it with a clear mind, and maybe a few cat videos in her heart.