Mikaela Shiffrin failed to finish her second straight race on Wednesday, skiing out in the women's slalom. In the hours since the event, the three-time Olympic medalist has received an outpouring of support from fellow athletes.
The 26-year-old recorded a “DNF” in her specialty, just two days after she missed a gate early in her first run of the giant slalom, resulting in a disqualification. Shiffrin was the reigning gold medalist in the event.
On Wednesday, after she missed a gate in the first five seconds of her run, Shiffrin skied to the edge of the trail before sitting down and resting her head on top of her knees. She stayed on the side of the course for several minutes and her mother came over to console her, even as the next skier prepared to begin their run.
Since Shiffrin's result in slalom, athletes from around the world have taken to social media to issue their support. One of the most touching messages came from her boyfriend, fellow Olympian Aleksander Aamodt Kilde.
“The pressure we all put on individuals in the sports are enormous, so let’s give the same amount of support back..” the Norwegian skier wrote in the post's caption. “It’s all about the balance and we are just normal human beings!! I love you Kaela.”
Former Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn encouraged Shiffrin to keep her head up following the slalom, reiterating that the recent performances don't take away from her previous accomplishments.
Seven-time Olympic medalist and gymnastics star Simone Biles, who spoke openly about mental health during the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo, also tweeted in support of Shiffrin.
Other athletes took to social media to send messages of support to Shiffrin and encourage viewers to treat the 26-year-old with kindness in light of her recent performances.
Shiffrin was already one of the most decorated skiers in history coming into the Beijing Olympics, having won more world championship medals (11) than any other American. She also won gold in slalom at the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi and a pair of medals at Pyeongchang in '18.
Shiffrin is still entered in three other events, the Super-G on Friday, the downhill on Tuesday and the combined on Thursday. However, she left some questions as to whether or not she would compete again in Beijing after her second straight DNF.
“Yeah,” the 26-year-old said when asked if she was up for competing again, per Sports Illustrated's Stephanie Apstein. “I mean, no. I will try to reset again, and maybe try to reset better this time, but I also don’t know how to do it better because I’ve never been in this position before and I don’t know how to handle it. The hill on the speed track looks pretty incredible, and I think it would be a pleasure to ski, but I also have some teammates who are really fast, and we have the athletes who can fill the spaces, so if I’m going to ski out on the fifth gate, what’s the point?”
