"I let my feelings be known, so shoot me" - Lindsey Vonn makes her stand clear on Mikaela Shiffrin controversy at World Championships

Lindsey Vonn revealed she felt sorry for venting out her frustration on social media after a controversy with Mikaela Shiffrin at the World Championships. The three-time Olympic medalist clarified that she was in support of the selection but should have been informed beforehand.

Vonn had campaigned for pairing up with Shiffrin for a “dream skiing” team but the latter didn't plan to compete in the newly introduced combined event. However, she changed her plans on Monday and instead of Vonn, she was paired with reigning downhill world champion Breezy Johnson.

Vonn said she learned about Shiffrin's decision through Instagram, and couldn't control her emotions, thereby venting out her frustration on social media.

“Why am I not surprised?” Lindsey Vonn wrote on X with a shrug emoji, before deleting her post [via Guardian].

Speaking with reporters in Saalbach on Tuesday, the Olympic champion suggested she felt sorry about her actions and clarified that her only problem was with the lack of communication from Shiffrin and the US Ski Team.

“Maybe I didn’t help myself or the team by having my Twitter fingers out. But at the same time, I’m a human being and I was disappointed in the communication. And I let my feelings be known. I’m a human. I have feelings. So shoot me,” she mentioned.

“I didn’t have a problem with the selection process,” Lindsey Vonn added. “It was 100% the right decision. Breezy and Mikaela should be the pair. They’re the fastest two skiers … my only problem was that it wasn’t communicated to me. I found out about it on Instagram. And I just think it’s a little unprofessional. It’s just a simple phone call or text message."

While Shiffrin and Johnson formed Team USA 1 and won the gold medal on Tuesday, Lindsey Vonn was paired with AJ Hurt for Team USA 3 and they finished 16th.

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Lindsey Vonn reacts to Mikaela Shiffrin and Breezy Johnson’s victory at the World Championships

Lindsey Vonn at the Audi FIS Alpine World Ski Championships - Source: Getty

Tuesday’s women's combined event saw speed racing specialists show their prowess first in the downhill and USA’s Breezy Johnson clocked the fourth-fastest time. Mikaela Shiffrin skied the third fastest slalom run a few hours later, and their combined time of 2:40.89s was enough for Team USA 1’s victory.

Vonn was delighted over their performance, and wrote in an Instagram post:

"Huge congrats to the rest of the team! @breezyjohnsonski and mikaelashiffrin crushed it!," she wrote.

Vonn, who finished 21st in the downhill race Johnson won last week, clocked 1:44.11 in her downhill run before AJ Hurt closed out in 2:43.87 for a 16th-place finish. They were the only US team (of the four total) to finish outside the top 10.