Ich lag in meinem Zimmer, aß eine bestellte Pizza und musste gleichzeitig lachen und weinen.
"I thought people would criticize me and call me childish. I expected a lot of negative comments online. After all, that's often how the internet works," McGrath says.
However, the opposite was true. "99 percent of the feedback was positive. When I am myself and do what feels right to me, the reaction from people is incredible."
Immediately after the race, friends sent the Norwegian countless videos of him that were circulating online.
"I was lying in my room eating a delivery pizza, laughing and crying at the same time," McGrath recalls.
"You feel like your world is collapsing"
Within a few days, the Norwegian was hit by a tsunami of contrasting emotions.
Above all, his grandfather's death knocked him completely off course.
"At first, it somehow felt unfair. I wondered why something like that had to happen right now. Grieving while competing as one of the favorites at the Olympic Games is something very few people ever experience. That experience was absolutely brutal, but at the same time a huge blessing," McGrath says.
"Once I started to accept the situation, though, I realized that maybe it was just meant to be. My grandfather loved skiing. Maybe he wanted to show me in that way that he was with me, watching over me."
The 26-year-old was also supported by family and friends during this difficult period. McGrath says he realized that, even in the face of sporting failure, he was surrounded by many wonderful people.
"In that one moment, you feel like your world is collapsing. And eventually you realize that life has so much more to offer."
Ich bin etwas furchtloser geworden.
Lying in the Olympic snow after his DNF, McGrath had no idea that just a few weeks later, life had the greatest success of his career in store for him.
At the World Cup Finals in his native Norway, he won the small crystal globe in the slalom.
"That was the greatest mental challenge," McGrath says looking back at the period immediately following the Olympics, when he still wanted to perform at the highest level.
Everything that happened last winter changed Atle Lie McGrath, both as a person and as an athlete.
"I think I've become a bit more fearless. I don't know if there's anything worse for a ski racer than leading at the Olympics by more than six tenths of a second and then crashing out in the second run. I've lived through that. I think I'm now perhaps less afraid of taking risks. Because I know I'll still be fine afterwards," McGrath says.
"Last year, I often calculated too much"
With this newfound fearlessness, McGrath has headed into the 2026/27 winter season.
In the giant slalom in Sölden, he went out in the second run. On Saturday, the defending globe winner is the man to beat in the season's opening slalom in Levi (LIVE Ticker).
"My goal is simply to ski as fast as possible. Last year, I often calculated too much. I was thinking about whether a podium finish was enough to gain points on this or that rival. This year, I don't have to worry about that as much. I've already won the globe; no one can take that achievement away from me."
Just as no one can take away the memories of the Olympic Games from Atle Lie McGrath – even if it didn't end in gold.
Video: McGrath's "escape" at the Olympics:
