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Lindsey Vonn receives hate-tweets after not medaling in Super-G

While training for Pyeongchang in St. Moritz, Switzerland, in early December, Vonn said she would not accept an invitation to the White House following the Winter Games, drawing social-media outrage from supporters of Donald Trump's presidency.
USA's Lindsey Vonn competes in the Women's Super-G at the Jeongseon Alpine Center during the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang on February 17, 2018. (FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images)

Lindsey Vonn failed to medal in her first event of the Winter Games, with a wide turn toward the end of her super-G run dropping the 33-year-old into a tie for sixth place.

It didn’t take long for the haters to come out of the woodwork — on Twitter, of course.

While training for Pyeongchang in St. Moritz, Switzerland, in early December, Vonn said she would not accept an invitation to the White House following the Winter Games, drawing social-media outrage from supporters of Donald Trump’s presidency.

“I want to represent our country well,” Vonn said at the time. “I don't think that there are a lot of people currently in our government that do that.”

While not necessarily disappointing — Vonn entered the Games ranked 10th in the world on the World Cup circuit — the response on Twitter to her sixth-place finish was immediate, not to mention vicious.

“I just spent last 20 min's reading thru tweets directed at @lindseyvonn,” tweeted ESPN analyst Julie Foudy, a longtime star on the U.S. women's national soccer team.

“Sickened & disgusted once again by the lack of humanity that engulfs our country. She just raced her damn heart out & Trump supporters gloat/cheer/celebrate her inability to medal. Is this what we've become?”

Replied USA ski jumper Lindsey Van: “It's gross. I have been mistakenly getting her hate mail for weeks!”

Some cited karma. Others #MAGA. Tucked within the tweets praising Vonn’s effort and finish were those taking some joy from her finish off the medal podium. Here’s a sampling of the vitriol in Vonn’s mentions:

Later Saturday, Vonn issued a response of sorts to the vitriol, quote tweeting Foudy's tweet and writing: "It's OK Julie. Not everyone has to like me but my family loves me and I sleep well at night. I work hard and try to be the best person I can be. If they don't like me (shrug emoji) their loss I guess... Thank you for the support."

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