Mikaela Shiffrin Reflects on Gold Medal Win in Heartfelt Social Media Post

At long last, Mikaela Shiffrin is an Olympic Games gold medalist once again.

In a heartfelt social media post following her trip to the podium in women's slalom on Wednesday, the 30-year-old skier reflected on her rocky journey to the start gate, as well as the pride she feels knowing she not only conquered the Olympic demons that have haunted her for years, but won a medal, too.

"I won!" Shiffrin wrote. "I got there, in the face of fear and adrenaline and the potential for criticism and backlash from people who know nothing and don’t even try to understand."

She continued. "I questioned all that I’ve learned in life, multiple times this week. I questioned what kind of grit I have in my heart and I wondered if I should be doing this at all. I questioned my toughness and tenacity. I questioned it all. And then I left those questions behind, and stepped into the arena anyway."

"I looked around at all of my peers and competitors. I wondered if they too felt this way. I felt a shot moment of resentment… why do you all have to be so damn good at this too? Why can’t it be easier? And then, I felt immense appreciation. Thank you for pushing me. Thank you for always being kind and understanding and fierce and strong. Thank you for either leading the way, or following right behind, so that we, together, can break barriers and raise the level of our sport.

"I won. I f-----g won. This, right here, is the lottery and I won.

"Oh, and I got a medal too."

Read the full post below:

Shiffrin put the doubters (both internal and external) to bed, however, with her dominant slalom run on Wednesday, when she cruised to the top of the leaderboard at a full 1.5 seconds ahead of her nearest challenger. And besides, as her Instagram post suggests, perhaps the real win for the 30-year-old Colorado native was just showing up. And the medal was merely the cherry on top.

More Winter Olympics on Sports Illustrated