PYEONGCHANG – French alpine skier Mathieu Faivre, the partner of American ski star Mikaela Shiffrin, has been expelled from the Winter Olympics over angry comments made after a race at the weekend.
The 26-year-old was sent packing from Pyeongchang by the zero-tolerance French team following remarks made to journalists after finishing seventh behind winner Marcel Hirscher in the men's giant slalom.
“Mathieu will return to France for disciplinary reasons,” David Chastan, director for French men's skiing, told AFP on Monday.
“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 was asked after the giant slalom about French skiers filling four of the top seven spots in Sunday's race, led by bronze medallist Alexis Pinturault.
“If you only knew what I think about the group collective,” snapped Faivre, who bagged team gold at last year's world championships in St Moritz. “I'm here to race for myself only. Don't expect miracles -- eighth is my best place in the World Cup.”
Faivre, who has since apologised on social media, said he had been “disgusted with the result” after looking up to see his position.
“I felt I was skiing well in the second run but when I saw where I'd finished it was like a slap in the face.”