Mikaela Shiffrin

Simone Biles Defends Mikaela Shiffrin Amid Struggles at Olympics

Shiffrin shared an Instagram post about the negative comments she's received for her performance

Team USA's Mikaela Shiffrin (left) and Simone Biles.
Getty Images

Mikaela Shiffrin has Simone Biles in her corner.

Shiffrin shared an Instagram post on Thursday about the hateful messages she's received amid her struggles at the 2022 Winter Games.

A three-time Olympic medalist, Shiffrin skied out in three of the five individual alpine skiing events. In the two others, she placed ninth and 18th.

"Well kids... feed 'em what you wanna feed 'em. Self-pity, sadness... Let the turkeys get you down. There will always be turkeys," Shiffrin's post read. "Or get up, again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again.

"Get up because you can, because you like what do you 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."

Mikaela Shiffrin was candid about her struggles at the Winter Olympics in her interview with "Today."

And in the comments section of the post, Biles came to Shiffrin's defense and shared some words of encouragement.

"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 just remember how AMAZING you are, we're all cheering for you, proud of you, love & support you!"

Like Shiffrin, Biles unfortunately had to deal with negative commentary after not being able to meet expectations at an Olympics. During the 2020 Tokyo Games, the seven-time Olympic medalist withdrew midway through the team event due to the "twisties," a phenomenon experienced by gymnasts when they lose their sense of where their body is in space.

Biles then pulled out of the individual all-around event and the floor exercise before returning to win bronze in the balance beam.

Shiffrin has one more shot at a medal in Beijing with the mixed team parallel slalom, which gets underway at 8 p.m. ET Saturday (rescheduled from Friday night).

"Go kick some ass Saturday! But most importantly, embrace the moment," Biles' comment continued. "Have fun love ya!!!"

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