BEIJING, China — Mikaela Shiffrin sat in the snow in defeat Wednesday, shaking her head with her arms propped over her bent knees after her performance on skis ended in disappointment at the Beijing Winter Olympics.
The 26-year-old's alpine skiing race was cut short when she lost her balance and teetered out of control, then missed an early gate in the first run of the women's slalom. The racer finished within a matter of seconds, just like in her first event of these Olympics.
"I’ve never been in this position before," she told NBC reporters as tears streamed down her cheeks. "I don’t know how to handle it."
Shiffrin continued, telling reporters the giant slalom and slalom were her "biggest focuses" and she may have been pushing past her limit.
The lingering image of a defeated Shiffrin plopped down in the snow coupled with NBC's coverage of the mishap angered some fans on social media and drew them to come to her defense. The online stir mirrors a defining moment of the Tokyo Olympics, when the most decorated gymnast on the global stage, Simone Biles, generated a significant social media response after deciding to withdraw from further events.
Biles said she had the "twisties," a term popular in the gymnastics community to define a mental disconnect that won't allow them to complete a trick. It's usually associated with increased amounts of pressure.
In a discreet, yet heartfelt tweet, Biles let Shiffrin know she understands — from one Olympic gold medalist to another.
Biles just tagged Shiffrin and added three white hearts by her name. It was a code even fans online understood.
"You and @MikaelaShiffrin are truly my hero’s (sic) - along with so many others. Please keep your head held high, you inspire more hope and triumph in how you rise after a fall," a fan, Elizabeth Nelson, responded online.
It was a message much more simple, but similar to the one Kerri Strug penned to Biles when she grappled with her own Olympic experience.
"Sending love to you @Simone_Biles," Strug said.
The two-time Olympic gymnast collapsed during a vault, injuring her ankle during the 1996 Olympic Games. She grimaced while reemerging from the mat, then stunned spectators to stick the landing and lock in a gold medal for Team USA.
Biles, now paying the support Strug showed her forward, also re-tweeted a post from writer and activist Charlotte Clymer, who said, "I don't know, shaming people just because they didn't perform well at the Olympics feels like the opposite of why we supposedly have the Olympics in the first place."
Watch Shiffrin's slalom race below: