Mikaela Shiffrin's boyfriend booted from Olympics for angry post-race comments
French skier Mathieu Faivre, the boyfriend of American skier Mikaela Shiffrin, has been sent home from the Olympics for comments made after a seventh-place finish in the men’s giant slalom race on Sunday.
After the race, in which four of the top seven finishers were French, Faivre was asked about that dynamic. Rather than congratulating a countryman for a bronze medal or glowing about team camaraderie, he reportedly snapped back: “If you only knew what I think about the group collective … I’m here to race for myself only.”
Probably not the best tone to set before the alpine team event on Saturday.
Faivre was clearly not happy with his performance — he said he was “disgusted with the result … when I saw where I’d finished it was like a slap in the face” — but he took things one step too far. He’ll jet back to France, and be replaced on the French team for Saturday’s competition.
A French ski director confirmed the decision, citing “disciplinary reasons” and “remarks after the race that were not in the spirit of the team.”
Faivre, 26, has since apologized on social media.
Shiffrin, meanwhile, is still in PyeongChang with either one or two events to go. Having already won one gold medal, she is deciding whether to participate in Wednesday’s downhill race. She will definitely compete in Friday’s combined event – though there are reports that it could be moved up to Thursday due to weather, complicating her decision.
Shiffrin, 22, and Faivre started dating last summer, despite the former living in Colorado and the latter living in Paris. “I mean, honestly, we haven’t had that many dates, this is a very new, fresh thing,” Shiffrin recently told Us Weekly. “So a typical date is, like, him flying to the U.S. or me flying to France and finding something to do for a few days, for like four days, and then it’s, like, ‘OK, bye. See you next time!’”
Sounds like the 2018 Winter Olympics could have been one of their longest dates yet. But thanks to Faivre’s comments, it came to an abrupt end.
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