A rift was exposed between U.S. ski teammates Julia Mancuso and Lindsey Vonn after Mancuso did an interview with Sports Illustrated in which she claimed that the women's U.S. Olympic ski team was being hurt by the "popularity contest" that existed. "People are having a hard time reaching their potential because it's such a struggle for attention," Mancuso told Sports Illustrated. "You come to meetings after races and it's like it's a bad day if Lindsey didn't do well." When asked about the issue, Vonn said she was "bummed out" by Mancuso's statements. Tensions only heightened when Mancuso was flagged off of the course during her giant slalom run because Vonn, who had gone previously and crashed, was still on the course.