Olympic athletes deal with expectations, which leads to crushing pressure
by Nathan Fenno and Davis Wharton, Los Angeles Times
Feb 12, 2022
4 minutes
BEIJING — The world’s most famous skier had kicked off her skis and dropped her poles. Sitting alone in the snow, she buried her head in her hands.
Other racers zipped past as the women’s slalom event at the Beijing Olympics continued. But Mikaela Shiffrin, who had skidded out of control and missed a gate near the top of the course, did not move. She remained off to the side for 20 minutes.
“There’s a lot of disappointment over the last week,” she said. “There’s a lot of emotions.”
In what will be an enduring if wrenching moment from these Games, her anguish over failing to finish, much less medal, in the second consecutive event in a little over 48 hours highlighted the unrelenting pressure
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