U.S. Olympians past and present have Mikaela Shiffrin’s back.
The two-time Olympic champion alpine skier, who was tipped to take home multiple medals from Beijing 2022, was disqualified from her second race in a row at the Games on Wednesday.
“I’ve never been in this position before and I don’t know how to handle it,” admitted the 26-year-old from Colorado.
Retired Olympic champion skier Lindsey Vonn, commentating on the Games for NBC, rallied for the athlete, tweeting she was “gutted” for her.
“But this does not take away from her storied career and what she can and will accomplish going forward,” Vonn wrote. “Keep your head high.”
Olympic champion gymnast Simone Biles, who pulled out of multiple events at the pandemic-delayed Tokyo 2020 Games last summer to focus on her mental health following a debilitating case of the “twisties,” shared a series of hearts for Shiffrin on Instagram.
Track star Gabby Thomas, meanwhile, hailed Shiffrin as “an inspiration for all of us.” “You have so much to be proud of,” she tweeted, adding: “Keep going.”
