Lindsey Vonn recently shared her thoughts on Mikaela Shiffrin’s choice for the upcoming skiing world championships. Vonn admitted that her comments weren’t helpful. She had hoped to team up with Shiffrin for a “dream team” in a new combined event that will also appear in the Olympics next year. However, when Shiffrin announced on Instagram that she would race with Breezy Johnson instead, Vonn was clearly disappointed.
On social media, Vonn expressed her surprise with a shrug emoji but later deleted the post and posted a different message. Meanwhile, Shiffrin disclosed that she is dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder after a crash last November, which is influencing her competition plans. She won’t defend her gold medal in giant slalom but intends to compete in the slalom and team events.
Following her initial reaction, Vonn said she regretted her social media outburst. “Maybe I didn’t help myself or the team by having my Twitter fingers out,” she remarked. “But I was disappointed with the communication. I’m a human. I have feelings.”
The combined event will see one skier race downhill and another in slalom, with their times combined to determine the winner. This season, Vonn is back in skiing at age 40, after nearly six years away from the sport. She struggled with her performance, finishing in 21st place in the downhill. “I was in my tuck pretty much the whole way down and just not accelerating anywhere,” she explained. “I think my boots need adjustment, but it’s tough to make changes during the world championships.”
The U.S. coach selected the pairings based on recent performance results. Vonn agreed with the decision to pair Shiffrin and Johnson but felt frustrated about how the decision was communicated. “It would have been nice to receive a simple call or text,” she said. She mentioned that she had spoken with Shiffrin beforehand, who initially seemed open to teaming up. However, she learned about Shiffrin’s final decision through social media.
Coach Alex Hoedlmoser emphasized the need for the fastest pairings in the team, stating it was evident that Breezy was the best choice to race with Shiffrin. “The goal is to bring the strongest athletes together,” he noted.
