Olympics icon Simone Biles has leapt to the defence of her compatriot Mikaela Shiffrin after the skier suffered the worst possible start to her Beijing 2022 adventure.
Shiffrin arrived at the Winter Olympics ready to compete in five separate events.
And, given her status as one of the best skiers ever to grace the snow, many would have backed her to be a strong contender for multiple medals.
But it hasn't gone that way so far, after crashing out of her first event – the giant slalom – after only 10 seconds.
Shiffrin would have hoped for better as she composed herself at the start gate for the women's slalom on Wednesday, but she made another uncharacteristic error as she almost fell and was out before the sixth gate.
The pain on her face was clear to see as she sat, looking crestfallen, at the side of the piste for a significant amount of time while other competitors completed their runs.
Cameras for American broadcaster NBC – the rights holders for the Games in the US – lingered on her the whole time she was there, much to the fury of many people online.
"Shame on NBC for keeping the camera on her for so long and for the unnecessary comments," one Twitter user wrote.
Another criticised a reporter working for NBC for "asking her questions until she broke" in the aftermath, as Shiffrin clearly struggled to process her second error.
Superstar gymnast Biles, who was at the centre of another debate around athletes' mental health at the Tokyo Olympics last summer, showed her support for her compatriot with a Tweet.
She also retweeted another user's post, which read: "I don’t know, shaming people just because they didn’t perform well at the Olympics feels like the opposite of why we supposedly have the Olympics in the first place."
Biles was returning the favour after Shiffrin was one of those to speak publicly in the gymnast's defence amid her mental health struggles in Tokyo.
Also defending Shiffrin was her former team-mate Lindsey Vonn, who wrote: "Gutted for @MikaelaShiffrin but this does not take away from her storied career and what she can and will accomplish going forward. Keep your head high."
Shiffrin's boyfriend, Norwegian skier Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, was another who called for his partner to be shown some empathy.
He posted a photo of her looking dejected while sat on the hill, along with the caption: "When you look at this picture you can make up so many statements, meanings and thoughts.
"Most of you probably look at it saying 'she has lost it, she can’t handle the pressure' or 'what happened?' Which makes me frustrated, because all I see is a top athlete doing what a top athlete does! It's a part of the game and it happens.
"The pressure we all put on individuals in the sports are enormous, so let's give the same amount of support back... It’s all about the balance and we are just normal human beings!!"
Shiffrin is due to take part in three more events at these Games, but admitted after this latest gut-wrenching incident that she is considering whether she should take part.
"I have some team-mates who are really fast and we have the athletes who can fill the spaces, so if I am going to ski out on the fifth gate, what's the point?" the American said.
