Mikaela Shiffrin posts heartfelt message to critics after more Olympic disappointment: 'Just get up'
Team USA's Mikaela Shiffrin took to social media following her exit from Thursday's slalom run of the Alpine combined at the Beijing Olympics to post a message about her critics and how she will rebound.
"Well kids...feed 'em what you wanna feed em. Self pity, sadness...let the turkeys get you down," the 26-year-old alpine skier wrote on social media. "There will always be turkeys. Or get up, Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Get up because you can, because you like what you do when its (sic) not infested with the people who have so much apparent hate for you. Just get up."
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Shiffrin, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, did not finish the slalom leg of Alpine combined and will leave Beijing without an individual medal. Shiffrin also had Did Not Finishes (DNF) in the giant slalom and slalom.
In a series of posts, Shiffrin shared with her social media followers a list of hateful comments she allegedly received, including "loser," "dumb blonde" and "choker." One comment said "cant (sic) wait for you to be done so we don't have to see your failure looser (sic) face anymore."
OPINION: Mikaela Shiffrin's performance at these Winter Olympics defies explanation. And that's OK.
After the list of comments, Shiffrin continued:
"It's not always easy, but it's also not the end of the world to fail. Fail twice. Fail 5 times. At the Olympics. (Enter me....) Why do I keep coming back? Gosh knows it hurts more than it feels good lately. I come back because those first 9 turns today were spectacular, really heaven. That's where I'm meant to be..."
Shiffrin plans to ski in the team event at the final alpine race in Beijing. This is her last chance to medal.
"And I'm stubborn as (expletive)," wrote Shiffrin. "So let's go for some team event training tomorrow, and then the final alpine race of this Olmpics (sic) on Saturday."
Contact Analis Bailey at aabailey@usatoday.com or on Twitter @analisbailey.