U.S. star Shiffrin struggling with PTSD after crash, won't defend giant slalom title at ski worlds

Mikaela Shiffrin says she is dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder following a crash in November and will not defend her gold medal in giant slalom at the alpine skiing world championships.

The American holder of a record 99 World Cup wins suffered a deep puncture wound when she fell in a giant slalom race on Nov. 30 in Killington, Vermont, causing severe trauma to her oblique muscles.

"I'm mentally blocked in being able to get to the next level of pace and speed and putting power into the turns," Shiffrin said in an audio message shared with The Associated Press on Monday. "And that kind of mental, psychological like PTSD-esque struggle is more than I anticipated.

"I figured once we touched ground in Europe and we got a chance to get some repetitive training days, I would be able to improve step by step and sort of the passion and the longing for racing was going to outweigh any fear that I had," she added.

Whatever stabbed Shiffrin in her fall at Killington nearly punctured her abdominal wall and her colon. She told The Associated Press last month that her injury was "a millimetre from pretty catastrophic."

WATCH: Shiffrin crashes at Vermont race:

Mikaela Shiffrin crashes during World Cup giant slalom, taken off course by sled

Shiffrin also had a high-speed crash in downhill in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, last season that kept her out for six weeks. She has discussed her fears with a psychologist, said Megan Harrod, Shiffrin's spokeswoman.

On Instagram, Shiffrin wrote: "Honestly, I really didn't anticipate experiencing so much of this kind of mental/PTSD struggle in GS from my injury."

Shiffrin won gold in giant slalom at the last worlds in France two years ago

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