Simone Biles Defends U.S. Skier Mikaela Shiffrin Amid Criticism
By Jason Hall
February 18, 2022
Simone Biles, the most decorated gymnast in history, praised U.S. skier Mikaela Shiffrin after Shriffrin fell short of medaling during her individual events at the 2022 Winter Olympics and was the subject of abuse on social media.
Shiffrin released a lengthy statement in a post shared on her verified Instagram account regarding her Olympic performance and some of the negative comments she received, which includes some offensive language.
Biles -- who was met with both praise and scrutiny for her decision to withdraw from the gymnastics team event during the Summer Olympics in 2021 -- responded to the post with some words of encouragement ahead of the skiing mixed team parallel slalom competition on Saturday (February 18).
"I know this all too well. I'm sorry you're experiencing this," Biles wrote.
"But just remember how AMAZING you are, we’re all cheering for you, proud of you, love & support you," she added. Go kick some a** Saturday! But most importantly, embrace the moment. Have fun🤍 love ya!!!!"
Shiffrin announced her participation in the mixed team competition following the women's downhill event on Tuesday (February 15).
The 26-year-old entered the 2022 Winter Olympics with high expectations having previously won gold in the Slalom during the 2014 Sochi Games and the giant slalom during the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, as well a gold medal at the 2021 World Championships in the combined event, having previously own five medals in the slalom (2013, 2015, 2017, 2019) and super-G (2019) events.