"You owe us nothing, save it for the Olympics": Fans react to Mikaela Shiffrin withdrawing from Giant Slalom event at World Cup

American alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin has opted out of the Giant Slalom race at the 2024 FIS Ski World Cup Finals in Saalbach, Austria, scheduled this weekend on March 17, 2024. She cited insufficient time to adequately progress and prepare for the race as the reason behind her withdrawal.

However, Shiffrin will be seen for one last time before wrapping up the 2023-24 season as she will be racing in the slalom on March 16, Saturday.

Shiffrin, who celebrated her 29th birthday on March 13, 2024, shared this news with her fans on her X (formerly Twitter) handle, adding:

“Lil’ update: Thx so much for the bday wishes!☺️ I hoped to push out of the GS start again this season, but we’ve run out of time to progress enough to be ready to race by Sunday…I’m excited to race one more slalom this season & then get right into 24-25 season prep. Here we go!”

Mikaela Shiffrin, who was making a comeback after 6 weeks owing to sprained knee ligaments in Italy’s Cortina d'Ampezzo, claimed her 96th victory at the World Cup circuit at the venue which previously saw her first (2012) and historic 87th World Cup (2023) wins.

Fans reacted to this announcement by the two-time Olympic champion, with one of the users stating that Mikaela doesn't owe them anything, thereby advising the latter to concentrate on the Olympics.

“You owe us nothing, Mikaela. Save it for the olympics.”

Another user praised her recovering from the injury and racing again this season. They added that they were excited for her final race and the upcoming 2024-2025 season.

“Wonderful job recovering from your injury and racing again this season. That took a lot of courage. It will be exciting to see you in your final race and then again in 24-25 season Mikaela!”

Another user showed their disappointment after Mikaela pulled out of Sunday’s race but stated that they would be watching the Slalom race, adding:

“A shame you won’t be racing on Sunday, but I’ll be tuning in to Saturday’s race. Enjoy it, and it’s good you ended the Season racing 😀👍”

Here are some more reactions that the Tweet generated from the fans.

Mikaela Shiffrin is the youngest American to win the national alpine title

Mikaela Shiffrin of the USA takes 8th place, during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Women's Slalom on November 27, 2011 in Aspen, Colorado. (Photo by Francis Bompard/Agence Zoom/Getty Images)

After making her debut in the World Cup in March 2011, Mikaela Shiffrin claimed the slalom title at the US National Championships at Winter Park, Colorado in early April.

Shiffrin clinched this title just a few weeks after she celebrated her 16th birthday, making her the youngest American ski racer to win a national alpine title.