Simone Biles is sending positivity to Mikaela Shiffrin after the American alpine skier opened up about dealing with criticism during her struggles at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
Shiffrin was seen as a likely favorite heading into this year’s Games, due in part to her two previous gold medals, but she failed to reach the podium in the five individual events she entered, including three events that she did not finish. She took to Instagram on Thursday to share some of the critical comments she had apparently received recently on social media.
She also shared an inspirational message that read, in part, “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…)”
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Among those commenting on her post was Biles, the famed gymnast who was heralded for prioritizing her mental health at the 2020 Tokyo Games when her battle with the so-called “twisties” during complicated gymnastics moves led her to sit out of a number of her planned events.
“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!”
Biles also encouraged Shiffrin to “kick ass on saturday,” given that the skier was scheduled to compete in a mixed team event on the final weekend of competition. However, the event was postponed due to high winds, and it’s unclear whether conditions will improve before the Games end on Sunday.
Shiffrin responded to Biles with multiple heart emojis and congratulated her on recently getting engaged to NFL player Jonathan Owens.
