SALZBURG, Austria — SALZBURG, Austria (AP) — After two major crashes the last two seasons, one that led to a battle with PTSD and a worrisome drop in her rankings points, American skiing standout Mikaela Shiffrin is entering the upcoming Olympic season on a more positive note.“My confidence is getting better, generally I feel more comfortable,” Shiffrin told The Associated Press in an interview on Thursday.She’s still not ready to race in downhills again, however, and might drop super-G as well in a reduced World Cup schedule ahead of the Milan-Cortina Olympics.Shiffrin is content to compete in slalom and giant slalom — her two best disciplines — and maybe super-G as she rebuilds her confidence following two injury-marred campaigns. She says there is “no chance” she will compete in downhill this season, while super-G is off the schedule until at least mid-December.The World Cup season starts with a women’s giant slalom on an Austrian glacier on Oct. 25, followed by a men’s race the next day.Shiffrin has trained “a little bit of super-G” during the offseason, but the American says she is not ready to race yet in that event.“I need more super-G training days in order to feel comfortable to race,” she said, adding she is planning one start in the discipline — in St. Moritz, Switzerland, on Dec. 14.“If it’s in a really good spot, then we can think about continuing, and if it’s not, then we can put that off to after the Olympics,” Shiffrin said at a media event hosted by her equipment supplier Atomic.The …
