Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin has revealed the reason behind her choice of Taylor Swift track to celebrate her historic win.
Mikaela celebrated winning gold in the women’s slalom at the 2026 Winter Olympics by posting a powerful lyric from Taylor’s song Ruin the Friendship.
The lyric Mikaela shared on Instagram read: “My advice is always ruin the friendship.”
Speaking with People Magazine, Mikaela explained, “The lyrics go into some loss and regret and things like that, but at the end of the day, when I started out this season listening to the album, I kept putting on ‘Ruin the Friendship,’ ‘cause I’m like, ‘This is what I want to feel what I’m in the start gate. I want to go. I just want to leave it all behind and ruin the friendship.’”
The skiing superstar shared what it truly translates for her, saying, “It’s about taking risks, kind of, in my life. That’s how I sort of translate it to my life, and that’s not always the easiest thing to do.”
“But yeah, it really felt like the right moment,” she added.
Furthermore, Mikaela also revealed her intentional choice of the photo to accompany the caption with, stating, “It’s] the best action shot. And it just felt like this was the mentality that spoke to that photo, so yeah. It felt right.”
“And I got a comment [from] the author herself. Just crazy,” she added of Taylor’s seal approval.
For those unaware, Taylor Swift also commented on Mikaela Shiffrin’s post, writing, “HISTORIC.”
