If you’ve been watching the 2026 Winter Olympics this year, I don’t have to tell you how exciting it’s been to see some of the world’s best athletes compete for coveted Olympic medals. With the halfway mark here, we already can’t stop talking about the figure skating coverage or how absolutely obsessed we are halfpipe. But today we have to talk about one alpine skier’s “back abs” and what happened when she was asked about it while at the Milan-Cortina games.
You Gotta See Mikaela Shiffrin’s Viral ‘Back Abs’ TikTok
On the first day of the 2026 Winter Olympics, 30-year-old Mikaela Shiffrin started off strong (on the internet) when she posted a wild video of her “back abs”. Take a look:
@mikaelashiffrin Someone said this is going viral, so sharing it here too 😝…my physio informed me the other day that this is what my back muscles look like😳🤪…is this normal?!
♬ original sound - mikaelashiffrin
You know what, even though this is the type of thing I’d expect to see from an Olympian like Shiffrin, wow, is this a lot to take in. Shiffrin is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and widely said to be one of the all-time great alpine skiers. She holds the record for the most World Cup wins of any alpine skier in history (male or female), and she is the only one to have over 100 wins.
This year marks her fourth Winter Olympics, but even so, I didn’t even know muscles could grow like that? Check out all the best comments from TikTok here:
- “Is that technically a backpack?" - @ekulthesixk
- “six-back” - @stopmotom
- "I never find my abs, and she's got back abs" - @marionmaryon
- "Maybe my abs are hiding on my back because they’re definitely not on my stomach." - @cristyle_love
- "My back fat is jealous" - @feebysworld
Good, right? Just wait until you read what Shiffrin said about her back abs after they earned 7.9 million views.
The Funny Way The US Olympic Alpine Skier Reacted To It
When Shiffrin did press (via NBC), the alpine skiing champion reacted to all the hubbub about her “back abs”. In her words:
I wish I had more of them in my front, honestly. I didn’t know that that’s what my back looks like. I don’t know how you get that. I don’t really want it. But, you know, I showed my mom and she’s like ‘Ew, gross. It looks like an alien.’ Thanks, mom.
She’s so funny. I’m cracking up over it. It’s hilarious to me that she didn’t even realize she had some serious muscles on her back until her friend recorded that video of her. Between wanting more abs in the front and her mom's reaction, she's too real for this.
Of course, alpine skiing to the level that she does requires an intense amount of strength that must also fire up her quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves and her core - and she’s sure got her back muscles handled.
Anyways, Shiffrin will be working those muscles on Sunday, February 15, when she competes in the Alpine Skiing Women's Giant Slalom in beautiful Cortina, Italy (where one James Bond film was famously shot). Tune in on NBC and Peacock to root her on!
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