Lindsey Vonn admits her social media reaction may have backfired.

Lindsey Vonn expressed disappointment after learning via social media that she would not be paired with Mikaela Shiffrin for the team combined event at the skiing world championships. Vonn, who had advocated for a “dream team” with Shiffrin, reacted critically on X before deleting her post. Despite acknowledging that her response may not have helped, she emphasized her frustration over the lack of direct communication regarding the decision.

Shiffrin instead teamed up with Breezy Johnson, the newly crowned downhill world champion, and the duo went on to win gold. Meanwhile, Vonn and her teammate, AJ Hurt, struggled, finishing 16th after Vonn’s disappointing downhill performance. Vonn later congratulated Shiffrin and Johnson online but did not participate in the podium celebration, instead leaving for a prior engagement in Switzerland.

U.S. coaches based their pairing decisions on performance data, selecting the fastest skiers for each discipline. Vonn admitted the selection was fair but criticized how the decision was communicated. She had previously discussed teaming up with Shiffrin and was initially told Shiffrin would not compete in the event. Learning the final decision through Instagram, Vonn called it unprofessional, emphasizing that a simple message could have resolved the issue more respectfully.