Shiffrin's washout Olympics reminiscent of Biles' and Osaka's Tokyo flop

YANQING DISTRICT, Beijing: Mikaela Shiffrin was expected to cement her position at the top of her sport at the Beijing Games, but after not being able to finish any of her races so far, her story echoes that of fellow elite athletes Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka at the Tokyo Games.

But while gymnast Biles and tennis player Osaka said that the pressure and media attention had become too much and weighed on their ability to perform at their best, Shiffrin said that she could handle the pressure and had much to be optimistic about.

The 26-year-old American even thanked journalists for their kind words after her aborted slalom.

After crashing out of the giant slalom on Monday (Feb 7), Shiffrin, who is already one of the world's greatest alpine skiers, went out at an early stage in Wednesday's slalom race.

"It's been an okay couple of days but still tough because you feel like this moment is building and building and building and you feel a bit weighed down by it, but I'm okay to feel that way. It's taken a lot of years and I'm not scared to feel a little weighed down by some expectation anymore," she said.

Biles did not finish her scheduled competitions at the Summer Games due to a sudden and dangerous disorientation in midair, later saying that mental health was more important than sports.

Osaka, who has said that she suffered from depression, had pulled out of other big events before Tokyo to avoid the media which she said was affecting her mental well-being. She eventually lost to a much lower ranked player in Tokyo.

Biles' and Osaka's actions received praise for reminding people that sports stars are also human.

"My whole intention building up, this whole season, since this summer, was to ski these races aggressively. That's what