U.S. Olympic skier Mikaela Shiffrin "grateful" for outpouring of support
Mikaela Shiffrin of Team USA reacts during the Women's Super-G on Day 7 of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at National Alpine Ski Centre in Yanqing, China, on Friday. Photo: Alex Pantling/Getty Images
U.S. alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin may be out of super-G medal contention at the Beijing Winter Olympics, but she told NBC on Friday: "I proved to myself that I can still trust my instincts a bit."
The big picture: The two-time Olympic Alpine gold medalist had never competed in the super-G before, but it was the first time in three events at the 2022 Beijing Games that she had completed a race, finishing ninth with a time of 1 minute, 14.30 seconds. She also spoke of how moved she'd been by the support she's received this week.
- The 26-year-old from Colorado, who was looking to cement her status as one of the best alpine skiers in Olympics history, has won praise for her positivity despite the setbacks and received support from fans and fellow Olympians.
- Among them was gymnastics great and mental health advocate Simone Biles, who withdrew from the Tokyo Games to prioritize her mental well-being. Biles tweeted three hearts to Shiffrin's Twitter account after the three-time Olympian's second disqualification, in the women's slalom.
What she's saying: "I never would've felt that humans could be so kind," said Shiffrin, who told NBC that completing the super-G was "a big relief."
- "It's the most surprising thing of my Olympic experience is how kind people have been in the face of my failure," she added.
- "It is failure. It's OK to say that. I am OK with that. And I'm sorry for it, but I also was trying."
Go deeper: Mikaela Shiffrin's heartbreaking 2022 Winter Olympics