Skier Who Stormed Off the Course and Tossed His Poles After Losing Out on Gold Calls It ‘Worst Moment of My Career’

NEED TO KNOW

• Atlie Lie McGrath had his gold medal dreams crushed in the final moments of the men’s slalom final on Feb. 16

• His reaction went viral, with him storming off to lie down in the snow alone

• McGrath is mourning the loss of his grandfather, who died on the day of the Olympics opening ceremony

Norwegian alpine skier Atle Lie McGrath had one goal heading into the second run of the men’s slalom final on Feb. 16: maintain his first-place standing, and win an Olympic gold medal in honor of his late grandfather.

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When McGrath, 25, came up short in the final seconds of the event, he was crushed, leading to a rather dramatic reaction that has since gone viral.

Upon failing to finish the race after he straddled a gate, thus ending his dreams of a medal, McGrath threw his ski poles out into the distance and stormed off past the course and into the endless snow, eventually ditching his gloves and goggles and lying down on his own.

The U.S.-born athlete later told reporters that he’d never experienced such a low in his entire career.

“It’s not the worst moment of my life, but it’s the worst moment of my career, and it’s been one of the toughest moments of my life with everything that’s been going on,” he said, according to NBC. “I was hoping I was going to be able to crown off this tough period with something good today and I’ve just had to really stand through so much tough stuff. I’m normally a guy that’s very good when it comes to perspective on things. And if I don’t ski well in a race, I can at least tell myself that I’m healthy and my family’s healthy and the people I love are here, so that’s nice. But that’s not been the case.”

McGrath’s grandfather, Svein Lie, died at age 83 on Feb. 6, the same day as the Milan Cortina Games opening ceremony, and the athlete hoped he would be able to honor him with a gold medal.

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McGrath had an impressive first run, with a .59-second cushion heading into the second over the Swiss Loic Meillard, who ultimately took home the gold.

“I lost someone I love so much and… I just needed some time for myself,” he said of his reaction. “I gave myself the absolute best opportunity you could today. And I skied so great and I still couldn’t get it done. So that’s what really hurts.”

On Tuesday, Feb. 17, McGrath shared a letter to his Instagram addressed to his grandfather, whom he called “Fafao.”