After Shocking Crash, Mikaela Shiffrin Breaks Silence On Artificial Snow At Beijing Winter Olympics 2022

The Olympics are where the best go to compete. And if elite athletes have to perform at incredible levels, it’s imperative?that they are well taken care of. Athletes prepare years for a chance at the Olympics and to see it all go out the window like it did for Mikaela Shiffrin, really does break one’s heart.

Shiffrin had been dominant heading into the games, but only after 5 turns and 11 seconds on the slope, she had a fateful fall that would end her descent. Shiffrin, in a subsequent media interaction, however, talked about the artificial snow in Beijing and took complete responsibility for the loss.

The US team dealt with several falls in their alpine skiing events; with some critics blaming the artificial snow in Beijing Olympics. However, not one to make excuses, Mikaela owned up to the fall and stated that the snow had nothing to do with it. It was simply a matter of her skill and concentration and what happened has already happened.

Shiffrin even spoke about several excuses that she could have made prior to the Olympics and what can be put forth now, but maintained that it was a simple mistake that cost her the event. She would just have to brush it off like any other athlete would.

Read More:??I Am Sorry?: Mikaela Shiffrin Breaks Silence After Shocking First-Round Elimination at Beijing Winter Olympics 2022

Mikaela Shiffrin refuses to blame artificial snow

Mikaela Shiffrin was dominant in a world context when it came to her events. She was sitting atop a run of 30 consecutive completed giant slaloms. And even in that record lies a hidden statistic. She had finished in the top 7 in 29 of those 30 completed courses. She had avoided a DNF since her premature stop at Kronplatz. But unfortunately, it seems as though the end of her streak was ill-timed to be at the Olympics.

Making no excuses, however, Shiffrin rattled off a list of reasons she could have sought refuge in but was choosing to not rely on. Reasons ranging from her injury in Soelden which forced her to restrict her training time; to the time she had to take off practicing due to quarantine provisions, but she was seeking refuge in none of them.

Shiffrin said, “I think the easiest thing to say is that I skied a couple good turns and I skied one turn a bit wrong and I really paid the hardest consequence for that.”

Speaking specifically about the artificial snow at the event, Shiffrin stated, “I feel that it’s incredible”. Adding that it did behave differently during the event than in practice on Monday; Shiffrin still maintained that skiers need to adapt all the time. And as a professional, this is something she should have done.

Ever classy, Shiffrin may have lost the event, but she will have won several fans with her honesty!