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Simone Biles offered some words of encouragement to Mikaela Shiffrin following the superstar skier’s tough showing at the Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Shiffrin lamented in a lengthy social media post Thursday the criticism she’s been facing following her failure to medal in five individual races and picking up three Did Not Finish marks.
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Mikaela Shiffrin of the United States sits on the side of the course after skiing out in the first run of the women's slalom at the 2022 Winter Olympics Feb. 9, 2022, in the Yanqing district of Beijing. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
But Biles, who went through her own struggles, commented on Shrffin’s Instagram post, reminding her that "people suck."
"I know this all too well," Biles wrote. "I’m sorry you’re experiencing this! People suck…. . damned if you do damned if you don’t. but remember how AMAZING you are, we’re all cheering for you, proud of you, love & support you! Go kick some a*s Saturday! But most importantly, embrace the moment. Have fun. Love ya!!!!"
Simone Biles of the United States reacts after winning the bronze medal on the balance beam during the artistic gymnastics women's apparatus final at the 2020 Summer Olympics Aug. 3, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Shiffrin came into the Olympics as one of the favorites with Olympic gold in 2014 and 2018 and several world championships under her belt. She was also the leader in the World Cup standings.
After talking to reporters about her latest failure Thursday, Shiffrin snapped back at critics in a lengthy statement.
MIKAELA SHIFFRIN FIRES BACK AT CRITICS FOLLOWING DISAPPOINTING OLYMPICS RUN: 'IT’S NOT ALWAYS EASY'
"Well kids… Feed ‘em what you wanna feed em. Self pity, sadness… Let the turkeys get you down. There will always be turkeys. Or get up, again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again," she wrote.
"Get up because you can, because you like what you do when it's not infested with the people who have so much apparent hate for you. Just get up. 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 and I’m stubborn as s---. So let’s go for some team event training tomorrow, and the final alpine race of the Olympics on Saturday."
Shiffrin told reporters she wasn’t "afraid" of what criticism may be coming her way.
Mikaela Shiffrin of the United States gestures after falling in the women's combine slalom at the 2022 Winter Olympics Feb. 17, 2022, in the Yanqing district of Beijing. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
"There’s going to be a whole chaotic mess ... that people are saying about how I just fantastically failed these last couple weeks in the moments that actually counted," the two-time gold medalist said. "It’s really strange, but I’m not even afraid of that right now. Maybe that’s because I have zero emotional energy to give anymore."
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Shiffrin has one last event — the team Alpine — to potentially earn a medal.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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