Austria’s Eva-Maria Brem competes during the first run of a women’s World Cup giant slalom in Are, Sweden, Saturday, Dec. 12, 2015.
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American Olympic skier Mikaela Shiffrin, who won gold in the Slalom event at the 2014 Winter Games, suffered a knee injury Saturday while warming up for an event in Sweden. She celebrated her first-run lead by raising her left pole and pumping her fist.
While she specializes in the speed events of downhill and super-G, Vonn has now won four giant slaloms in her career – with two of them coming in Are. “I have nothing to lose and I think that makes me a risky competitor, because I’m not afraid of falling or losing”, Vonn said. “So I just gave it everything I have and I tried to arc and I’m happy that I was fast”.
Shiffrin’s manager Kilian Albrecht tells The Associated Press that Shiffrin “basically flipped over into the net” and will not race Saturday.
“She’s in the hospital waiting for the MRI which will probably take a while”, Albrecht added.
“I like skiing at Are and I have had some good results here”, the 31-year-old Vonn said recalling that she won a giant slalom in similar fashion in March 2012.
Shiffrin will return to American on Sunday to discover the full extent of the damage. Dimming sunlight, high winds and snow flurries could not slow down the day’s ultimate victor, Lindsey Vonn – who claimed victory in her first giant slalom race since 2013 in Maribor, Slovenia, and her fourth World Cup race in a row. Visibility was also a factor, with the artificial lights turned on to aid skiers.
“I haven’t done really any GS training”, Vonn said, laughing, after her first run. As victor of the first run, Vonn had the advantage of watching others ski the course first to devise a strategic plan.
There’s something about the Swedish resort located near the Arctic Circle – with the mountain hovering over a lake – that reminds Vonn of Minnesota. “I said last week if I finish Lake Louise strong that always means good things for the rest of the season”. I love racing here in Are under the lights.
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“It’s just been a great season so far”, said Vonn, who missed the season-opening giant slalom in Soelden, Austria, in October while recovering from a broken left ankle.
