Yanqing (China) (AFP) - Mikaela Shiffrin has received a very public boost from Norwegian boyfriend and fellow ski racer Aleksander Aamodt Kilde after the American star's Beijing Olympics woes.
Shiffrin, one of the faces of the Games, was left in tears after skiing out of Wednesday's slalom after a matter of seconds, just as she had done in the giant slalom.
Kilde, the other half of skiing's golden couple, leapt to her defence on social media.
"The pressure we all put on individuals in sports are enormous so let's give the same amount of support back," the 29-year-old Norwegian wrote on Instagram.
Alongside a photo of Shiffrin slumped in the snow with her head in her hands, Kilde added: "When you look at this picture you can make up so many statements, meanings and thoughts.Most of you probably look at it saying: 'she has lost it', 'she can't handle the pressure' or 'what happened?'
"Which makes me frustrated because all I see is a top athlete doing what a top athlete does!It’s all about the balance and we are just normal human beings!!!"
Kilde ended his post with "I love you Kaela".
Kilde also has not had quite the Olympic start he might have hoped for, finishing fifth in the downhill despite being favourite, before bagging a bronze in the super-G.
Speaking after sliding out of the slalom, Shiffrin also paid tribute to Kilde.
"My boyfriend is here, he got a bronze.He’s been working so hard to get an Olympic medal his whole career and he’s had some really bad luck," she said.
Kilde gets to go again in the men's alpine combined on Thursday.
