Mikaela Shiffrin may be miles away from her loved ones during the 2022 Winter Olympics, but she is feeling the support of her fans right now.
On Tuesday, the Olympic alpine skier was disqualified from her best event, the slalom. The 26-year-old athlete from Colorado had hoped to bounce back from her giant slalom race, where she had an unusual early exit. Unfortunately, Mikaela bowed out only five seconds in after passing the fifth gate. Viewers watched as the two-time Olympian sat down in the snow devastated over the repeated incident.
Afterward, Mikaela opened up to reporters and said that although she had every “intention to do [her] best skiing and [her] quickest turns,” the winter sport’s fast pace left no “space to slip up, even a little bit.”
“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 just don’t,” she said, according to The New York Times. “I’ve never been in this position before, and I don’t know how to handle it.”
Folks tuning in to her slalom event were just as shocked by the turn of events. Without hesitation, Mikaela’s fans immediately flooded the comments section of her latest Instagram post from February 7 to offer their support.
“You’re an amazing athlete and an outstanding role model for young girls like my daughters. Beijing doesn’t and won’t define you. You have made USA proud. #justkeepswimming,” one person wrote. “Oh my, I don’t know anything about your sport but my heart aches for you. I can imagine your sorrow and sadness. Regardless of the outcome, you are a star. Keep shining. This doesn’t define you. You are an inspiration to so many and that will never be taken away from you. Hold your head up and prepare for the next event. You’re an Olympian!” another added.
Among those showing up for Mikaela was her boyfriend and Norwegian Olympic skier Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, who shared a heartfelt message on Instagram. “All I see is a top athlete doing what a top athlete does! It’s a part of the game and it happens,” he wrote in part. “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!! I love you Kaela.”
Shortly after, Mikaela took to her Instagram Stories and responded to Aleksander’s words: “My hope for every human is that they find another human who finds a way to love, understand, and heal them in the way @akilde has done and continues to for me.”
The skier also congratulated Petra Vlhova for winning the slalom race and earning the first gold medal for Slovakia. “I can step out of my little world currently consumed with self-pity to acknowledge this was really big today,” Mikaela wrote. “Congrats to @petravlhova13 and her team. 💪.”
Selena is the entertainment and news editor for Good Housekeeping, where she covers the latest on TV, movies and celebrities. In addition to writing and editing entertainment news, she also spotlights the Hispanic and Latinx community through her work. She is a graduate of CUNY Hunter College with a B.A. in journalism and creative writing.
