Olympic athlete Lindsey Vonn has fired back at people criticizing her for anti-Trump views, saying, “I’m not going to back down.”
Following her failure to medal during a recent skiing event, online critics began ridiculing her loss as “karma” for past comments she made about U.S. President Donald Trump, as reported by The Daily Mail.
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“Lindsey Vonn is the latest to suffer from ‘Trump Effect’. Should keep your mouth shut and race. Don’t insult us,” wrote one person on social media. “Karma is a mo fo. Glad to see you lose. You’re an anti-American,” said another.
Vonn fired back recently saying, “They want to defeat you. And I’m not defeated. I’m the same. I stand by my values. I’m not going to back down. I may not be as vocal right now with my opinions but that doesn’t mean they’ve won. I haven’t changed my mind.”
Much of the criticism against Vonn stems from a past CNN interview where she was asked, “How would it feel competing at an Olympic Games for a United States whose president is Donald Trump?”
“Well, I hope to represent the people of the United States, not the president…. I take the Olympics very seriously, and what they mean and what they represent,” Vonn responded. “What walking under our flag means at the opening ceremony. I want to represent our country well. I don’t think that there are a lot of people currently in our government that do that.”
The controversy surrounding Vonn is just one of many that has emerged. Another recent situation that has made headlines is the Russian Olympic athlete who won a medal in curling but is currently under investigation after failing a drug test.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport released a statement that revealed it had “initiated a procedure involving the athlete Aleksandr Krushelnitckii,” according to Buzzfeed.
Krushelnitckii competed in the 2018 Winter games with his wife, Anastasia Bryzgalova, in the mixed curling doubles. The couple won the bronze medal.
It’s been reported that Krushelnitckii tested positive for meldonium, a banned substance, and the same one that Maria Sharapova tested positive for in 2016, according to The Guardian.
Krushelnitckii has only had one blood sample test positive for the drug as of yet but a second sample will be tested following a 24 hour time period.
If it is determined that Krushelnitckii does have the banned substance in his system then he and his wife could lose their medals.
Meldonium’s main use is to treat ischaemia, which is a lack of blood flow to parts of the body, particularly in cases of heart failure or angina. However, athletes have been known to use it to enhance their abilities. It does so by “carrying more oxygen to muscle tissue.”
Coincidentally, in December of 2017, it was reported that the entirety of Russia’s Olympic team had been banned from competing in the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
