The life and times of Lindsey Vonn have proven anything but tame since she last swept all three World Cup races at the mountain nicknamed Lake Lindsey in her honour. A year later, she fell on her left hip, but recovered to finish second.
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Vonn, 31, collected her 69th career World Cup victory, stretching her all-time record, as well as her 13th downhill triumph at Lake Louise. Another Austrian, Ramona Siebenhofer, was third.
The ladies’ speed week at Lake Louise concludes on Sunday with a super G race scheduled for 11:00 a.m. MST.
“Every win here is sweeter than the last, especially coming back from so many injuries”, Vonn said. This was the third time that she swept the weekend of racing in the Canadian Rockies, not to mention that she has scored 18 of her victories there. But she didn’t panic and stayed upright. Luckily, she rose to her feet and was able to ski down unassisted, but her promising race run was over.
People say it’s because she’s taller and stronger than everyone else.
“I thought I was going down, then I somehow managed to stay on my feet”.
“That was not planned”, Vonn commented on the mistake she made mid-course.
Vonn captured both downhill races over the weekend for the hat trick.
Third place went to the Austrian Cornelia Huetter.
Two other U.S. Ski Team athletes finished in the points – Laurenne Ross, of Bend, Ore. was 12, and Mammoth Mountain’s Stacey Cook 17.
“I feel like whenever I’ve started well here it means good things for the rest of the season”, Vonn said. “I definitely got a little bit late on the bottom, got pushed a little bit, but I kept the speed going”. It was quite balmy.
She’s learning the nuances of a slightly altered Lake Louise layout as officials added more rolling terrain.
“I knew my run wasn’t that bad”, explained the young Tippler.
That was a lesson learned.
Downhill races are scheduled for Friday and Saturday.
“I just have to ski clean, ski aggressive, and hope I can stay ahead”, she said. Franck Fife Getty Images Vonn emulates former Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow as she kneels before taking the podium after winning the women’s super-G on the Birds of Prey at the Audi FIS World Cup on December 7, 2011 in Beaver Creek, Colo.
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Shiffrin and Vonn are expected to have a close race for the overall title, the largest prize in the sport this season with no Olympics or World Championships. I have to look at video and see how it actually was compared to what it felt like.
