Mikaela Shiffrin has heartbreaking message after Grand Slalom crash

Following a frustrating crash that derailed her run, Mikaela Shiffrin is sharing about how this stumble will stick with her for a while.

Mikaela Shiffrin is opening up about the disappointment she felt after crashing during her opening run in Beijing. She knows this is something that will stick with her for a while.

Olympic athletes tend to hold themselves to insanely high standards. Part of that comes with the territory of being among the best athletes on the face of the planet. An unfortunate side effect of that is the immense frustration and emotional toll that can come with unexpected stumbles.

According to Shiffrin, she won’t simply be able to move on from crashing shortly after her first giant slalom run began.

As Michael Rosenberg of Sports Illustrated reports, Shiffrin isn’t thrilled about that crash.

“I won’t ever get over this,” Shiffrin said.

This crash isn’t exactly the only one that Shiffrin has to mentally wrestle with. As Rosenberg writes, Shiffrin has held on to several frustrating moments.

“I’ve never gotten over any,” she explained. “I still remember how much it hurt to lose it four years ago in Kronplatz. I fell before the last Olympics and I remember thinking that was so heartbreaking. It wasn’t even at the Olympics.”

2022 Winter Olympics: Mikaela Shiffrin frustrated over crash in Beijing

Shiffrin isn’t alone in crashing here though. In fact, many athletes ended up stumbling and ultimately falling short of finishing the course.

As Matias Grez of CNN points out, Shiffrin was just one of 22 skiers that ultimately did not finish on Xiaohaituo Mountain. Grez mentioned this could be a “consequence of the usual pre-Olympic test runs being canceled due to Covid.”

But that probably won’t provide Shiffrin any sort of solace about this crash.

The 26-year-old is one of the greatest athletes in the world and could very well be one of the greatest skiers of all time. Despite that, she should probably give herself some grace here, even if that’s easier said than done. She’s just human. Mistakes happen. Even to the best athletes the earth has ever seen.