Taylor Swift‘s Winter Olympics fandom continued this week as she left a message of congratulations for American skier Mikaela Shiffrin.
Skier Shiffrin finally secured another gold medal on Wednesday when she reigned supreme in the women’s slalom.
It had been a disappointing Games for the 30-year-old skier before that, who could only manage 11th and 4th in the giant slalom and team events earlier on in Milan.
Shiffrin, considered by many to be the greatest Alpine skier of all time, had failed to win an Olympic medal since a gold and silver in Pyeongchang in 2018.
So she took to social media to celebrate her latest achievement by posting a picture of her on the slopes and using a lyric written by Swift as the caption. It read: ‘My advice is always ruin the friendship.’
Swift clearly spotted the reference to a song from her latest album ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ because she responded to Shiffrin. The singer simply posted ‘HISTORIC’ with three gold medal emojis.
Taylor Swift left a one-word message of congratulations for American skier Mikaela Shiffrin
Swift called Shiffrin ‘historic’ after the skier used some of her lyrics in a social media caption
Shiffrin is known to be a huge fan of the pop sensation, who is due to marry NFL star Travis Kelce this summer.
In July 2023, Shiffrin attended Swift’s Eras Tour show in Denver where a number of American skiers bought a suite and ‘sang at the top of [their] lungs.’
Shiffrin has also previously revealed that she takes inspiration from Swift in dealing with fame and success.
‘I’ve spent 15 years studying Taylor Swift and she has been guiding me a little bit every step of the way,’ she said.
‘It’s why most Swifties become Swifties. It feels like her music is speaking directly to you. Her experiences resonate; I’ve always tried to learn from them.’
Swift wasn’t the only superstar to flood the comments with congratulations either.
Olympics royalty Simone Biles replied: ‘GOATED – so excited for you!!’
American tennis star Coco Gauff also chimed in, calling Shiffrin the ‘goat’.
Shiffrin had failed to win an Olympic medal since a gold and silver in Pyeongchang in 2018
However, not everybody understood the reference Shiffrin was making in her celebratory post. One confused fan commented: ‘Absolutely amazing shot but don’t get the reference’.
Another said: ‘Sorry Mik…I don’t get’.
A third asked: ‘What does that mean?’
‘I don’t get it. Can a Swiftie please explain?’ a fourth added.
Shiffrin showed her quality by finishing over a second quicker than Switzerland’s world champion Camille Rast to return to the top step of the podium. Anna Swenn Larsson of Sweden took bronze.
After delivering an exquisite second run to build on her 0.82-second lead from the morning, Shiffrin stopped in the finish area to take it all in, slowly squatted and was embraced by the other medalists.
Then all the emotion came out: Shiffrin pumped her fists to the crowd and then was fighting back tears as she approached her mom and coach, Eileen.