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Winter Olympics skier who went viral for the wrong reason speaks out

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Picture:
David Ramos/Getty Images

Elizabeth Swaney came in last – at 24th – at the Winter Olympics for her halfpipe freestyle.

The 33-year-old, who was born in the US, went viral for her performance in Pyeongchang, with publications calling it “average” and having a “lack of attention-catching moments” at best, to “spectacularly mediocre” at worst.

The competition is filled with jumps and tricks – much like those of Cassie Sharpe, who was a gold medallist in the event – but hers were lacklustre.

Swaney knows how her performance went, and wants people to stop focusing on it.

During an interview with the New York Times Swaney agreed that her halfpipe runs left much to be desired, and she was “disappointed” in herself.

I don’t think I’ve ever been satisfied with my halfpipe runs, and I don’t think a lot of skiers are. I haven’t been as confident as I wanted to be [able] to go higher out of the pipe and just really go for these bigger tricks.

She was also frustrated by how much attention she was getting – and wanted people to focus on her competitors instead.

I look up to them.

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