Mikaela Shiffrin continued her Olympic medal drought as she finished 11th in the women’s giant slalom at the 2026 Winter Olympics. This result came after she narrowly missed the team combined podium alongside Breezy Johnson.
Despite the heartbreak, Shiffrin received massive support from the most decorated gymnast, Simone Biles, who also made a surprise appearance in Milan to take in the energy there.
Mikaela Shiffrin Receives Support from Simone Biles After Giant Slalom Heartbreak
Mikaela Shiffrin was one of the podium hopes for the American team, but her journey back to the giant slalom course at the Olympics was not an easy one. She suffered a major crash in the event in Killington over a year ago and was left with a puncture wound in her abdomen.
She missed 11 weeks of competition, and after an extended recovery and rehabilitation, she opened up about developing PTSD and having many doubts about resuming competition in the giant slalom.
Nevertheless, Mikaela Shiffrin showed resilience by taking another shot at the event during the 2025–26 World Cup season. Although she did not earn a podium finish, she built the mindset needed to compete at the Olympics. The 108-time World Cup winner pushed out of the gate third in Run 1 and stood seventh, ultimately recording a combined time of 2:14.42 to finish 11th.
The winningest alpine skier was far from disappointed with her giant slalom result; instead, she called it an “incredible day” and said moments like these are reminders of why she loves the sport. Biles, the seven-time Olympic gold medalist, shared her admiration for her fellow U.S. athlete by reposting her post on her Instagram story and captioning it with a couple of white heart emojis.
The 28-year-old was a surprise guest at the Milano Ice Skating Arena, watching Ilia Malinin perform the free skate in the men’s individual program.
READ MORE: ‘I Have Nightmares’ Mikaela Shiffrin and Simone Biles Detail the Horrors of Online Hate
Simone Biles faced a mental health setback at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, withdrawing from the Games midway through the competition.
She then took two years off from gymnastics and, over time, became a mental health advocate, inspiring many people to be vocal about their feelings. She also stepped in for Mikaela Shiffrin when the skier left the 2022 Beijing Games without a podium finish.
The gymnast explained that people who throw shade at athletes do not understand what they go through or how much hard work it takes to become the best in the sport. After the Beijing Games, Biles said she reached out to Shiffrin to let her know she was not alone.
