Winter Olympics 2018: Shiffrin's partner expelled from French ski team

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Peyongchang, February 19: Mikaela Shiffrin will have to wait until after the Winter Olympics to see boyfriend Mathieu Faivre after he was sent home from France's ski team over post-race comments.

Faivre finished seventh in Sunday's giant slalom - won by alpine skiing great Marcel Hirscher - but seemed less than impressed with his efforts.

Frenchmen made up four of the top seven, with Alexis Pinturault taking the bronze medal, but Faivre was not interested in praising his team-mate.

"If you only knew what I think about the group collective," Faivre is quoted by AFP. "I'm here to race for myself only."

Faivre was part of France's gold-medal winning squad for the team event at last year's World Championships, but his Olympics is now over.

"Mathieu will return to France for disciplinary reasons," France's skiing director David Chastan told AFP. "He made remarks after the race that were not in the spirit of the team and will not be retained for the team event."

Faivre apologised for his comments on Instagram, posting: "Skiing is an individual sport that is practiced as a team. However, when we are in the starting gate, only our individual race and our own performance is important.

"So yes, when it came time to give my feelings on my race, some 10 minutes after crossing the finish line, only my performance and my failure were present.

"I did not want to disrespect anyone, I was extremely proud to represent my country and I thank all the people who made this possible."

Faivre's expulsion follows a host of star names opting not to take part in the team event. Shiffrin and Hirscher have ruled themselves out, with Lindsey Vonn suggesting she would follow suit on Monday.

Source: OPTA