American alpine skier Lindsey Vonn sent a message to the internet trolls who bombarded her with abuse after she missed out on a Winter Olympics medal on Saturday.
Trolls, including some of President Donald Trump’s supporters, tweeted hateful messages at the 33-year-old four-time Olympian after she placed sixth in the women’s super-G event. Their comments were in apparent retaliation for Vonn’s criticism of Trump last month.
Julie Foudy, the former U.S. women’s national soccer team captain, spotted the offensive tweets and shared this message of support for Vonn:
I just spent last 20 min's reading thru tweets directed at @lindseyvonn. Sickened & disgusted once again by the lack of humanity that engulfs our country. She just raced her damn heart out & Trump supporters gloat/cheer/celebrate her inability to medal. Is this what we've become? — Julie Foudy (@JulieFoudy) February 17, 2018
Vonn replied that “not everyone has to like me but my family loves me and I sleep well at night.”
It’s ok Julie. Not everyone has to like me but my family loves me and I sleep well at night. I work hard and try to be the best person I can be. If they don’t like me 🤷🏼♀️ their loss I guess... Thank you for the support🙏🏻❤️ https://t.co/EaySJE7QAe — lindsey vonn (@lindseyvonn) February 17, 2018
“I work hard and try to be the best person I can be,” Vonn added. “If they don’t like me, their loss I guess.”
Vonn won two medals, a gold and a bronze, at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada. A knee injury prevented her from competing at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
Her measured response to the critics earned plenty of praise:
You always be a champion, Lindsey. No matter what people says, your name is in the Olympic History, your legacy to Alpine Skiing is incredible! — Esporte pelo Juva (@EsportePeloJuva) February 17, 2018
I love you hun! 😍😍😍 — Marek Szkolnikowski (@mszkolnikowski) February 17, 2018
Vonn said it was “frustrating” to lose out in the super-G event, but she was “proud of the way” she “attacked the course.” Czech athlete Ester Ledecka won a surprise gold.
Frustrating to be so close to the podium and to have made such a big mistake...but that’s ski racing. I’m proud of the way I skied and how I attacked the course. I gave it my all and came up short. That’s life. Now it’s on to the Downhill! 💪🏻 — lindsey vonn (@lindseyvonn) February 17, 2018
American skiing legend Lindsey Vonn’s return to the Olympic slopes after an eight-year absence ended in defeat and confirmation she is close to retirement.
Vonn will attempt to add to the Olympic gold she won in Vancouver in 2010 in two more events in Korea and then call it quits.
Von, 33, who is at her fourth Olympics, said last night: ‘I love ski racing. I want to keep racing forever.
‘Unfortunately, my body is not the Terminator. I can't take as many beatings as I used to… I would say 99% sure this is my last Olympics.’
Lindsey Vonn said she's '99 per cent sure' this will be her last Olympics and will soon retire. Vonn is pictured above at the Alpine Skiing Ladies Super-G on day eight of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games on February 17
‘Unfortunately, my body is not the Terminator, Vonn said hinting at her retirement
The America skier, pictured above the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, finished in sixth place
She had hoped to win gold in the ladies' super-G at Jeongseon Alpine Centre, and dedicate it to her late grandfather Donald Kildow who died last November.
When she realized a medal was out of her reach yesterday, she looked up to the skies.
She revealed: ‘He (my grandfather) was supposed to help me. I was like: “What happened, grandpa? Why did we not ski better?”
‘I'm skiing for him. He's been such a big inspiration in my life. It's hard for me that he's not here. I wish he was. I ski with his ashes. I just want to win for him.'
‘I did the best I could. I'm happy with my performance. It might not be a medal, but I definitely gave it everything I had.’
She added: ‘I attacked. Unfortunately, I got a headwind in the middle section, but I attacked. I'm disappointed, but I'm not upset.’
She was the first competitor to hit the slopes wearing the number one bib.
Vonn said she was hoping to win gold to honor her late grandfather
‘That's the thing with running No.1. You're not able to see any of the other racers go. You don't know what the speeds are; don't know if the line is exactly as you expected,' she said.
‘I did the best I could with the information I could get. At least I'm not fourth. I'm happier to be (sixth) than fourth.’
Speaking about her long wait to compete at the Olympics, she said: ‘I've had a roller- coaster the last eight years with so many injuries.’
She faulted and was wide on one of the last turns late in the course after skiing a near-perfect run up to that point.
She finished in one minute, 21.49 seconds, and tied for sixth place.
The Czech Republic’s Ester Ledecka, 22, won the gold 1:21.11. Silver went to Sochi champion Anna Veith of Austria. Tina Weirather of Liechtenstein took the bronze.
Story highlights Vonn received abuse on Twitter after competing Saturday
She finished sixth in the women's Super G
Vonn spoke out against Donald Trump in a 2017 CNN interview
(CNN) Lindsey Vonn had barely finished her first race at PyeongChang 2018 when the online abuse resumed.
One of the most successful female ski racers of all time, Vonn had received comments in December from some people saying they hoped she'd break her neck after she told CNN in an interview she wouldn't visit the White House should she win a medal at the Winter Olympics.
"Well I hope to represent the people of the United States, not the president," the 33-year-old American had told CNN's Alpine Edge late last year.
Having missed out on the podium after making a costly mistake on the last turn of Saturday's women's super-G competition, Vonn once again found herself on the receiving end of a stream of negative comments, with some even wishing her physical harm.
The hate tweets prompted US soccer star Julie Foudy to write on Twitter: "I just spent last 20 min's reading thru tweets directed at @lindseyvonn. Sickened & disgusted once again by the lack of humanity that engulfs our country.
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