With the Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo set to commence in less than a week, a major international shipping giant has found itself embroiled in controversy after misplacing a crucial piece of equipment for a competing Olympian.
Frantic Search for Lost Olympic Attire
American ice dancer Christina Carreira, who is poised to compete with her partner Anthony Ponomarenko, had her bespoke performance costumes lost by FedEx in the critical days leading up to the prestigious global competition. The logistical failure has thrown her preparations into disarray and sparked a public outcry.
Designer's Public Plea on Social Media
Carreira's costume designer, Lisa McKinnon, took to Instagram on Thursday to publicly call out the logistics company, tagging FedEx's official account while expressing her profound frustration. 'It's like pulling teeth to get answers from calling FedEx!!!' she captioned her post, adding, 'We're heartbroken and so incredibly disappointed with you! We really really need you to come through for us right now!!'
McKinnon revealed that the Olympic costume had allegedly been 'stuck' at the FedEx facility in Memphis since Sunday, despite being shipped out on January 24th with an expected delivery in Italy just two days later. By January 29th, the situation had become critical. 'It's now Thursday and the skaters are literally on their way to the Olympics in Milan without the costume!!!' McKinnon continued, explaining that daily calls to FedEx had yielded promises of delivery 'tomorrow' but no actual updates or movement.
Weather Woes and Communication Breakdown
While severe weather that battered the eastern United States from January 24-26, particularly impacting Tennessee, likely contributed to initial delays, McKinnon clarified that this was not the core issue. 'It is not however the weather delay that's the main issue for us in this situation, it's the fact that they don't know where the package is,' she stated, highlighting a profound breakdown in tracking and customer service.
The 25-year-old Canadian-born ice dancer, Christina Carreira, echoed these frustrations in her own Instagram plea. 'We've been calling since Monday, everyone at FedEx has been extremely unhelpful, my package has been stuck in Memphis since Monday, they've been telling us that it will be put on the next flight for the last 3 days,' she shared. 'There's been no movement, and no one seems to be able to help.'
Community Mobilisation and Eventual Resolution
In a desperate bid for assistance, McKinnon appealed to her followers: 'I'm reaching out to you all, my amazing followers, to see if anyone has any direct connections to anyone working at the main FedEx facility in Memphis that can help us????' FedEx did eventually respond to the post, commenting, 'We want to help out and are looking into this!' Carreira also added her voice, commenting 'Please help!! @fedex.'
Fortunately, the power of community intervention prevailed. McKinnon later explained the positive turn of events: 'Our small, but mighty, skating community has come together and through a friend of a friend within US Figure Skating, whom had a colleague in Memphis that knew someone that worked at the hub and that could physically go find the package, it was found late last night and is en route for delivery today! Thank you!!!'
Carreira posted a celebratory update to her account, simply stating 'they found it', marking a relieved end to the stressful pre-Olympic saga. The incident underscores the immense pressure and logistical precision required in the final days before an athlete competes on the world's biggest sporting stage.
