After her truncated run in the slalom portion of the combined, Vonn told reporters that she’s intent on breaking Ingemar Stenmark’s record of World Cup wins.
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Snowboard specialist Ledecka has never finished on the podium in World Cup alpine events, her best result being a seventh-placed finish in the downhill past year.
After an extended delay for a crash by Kim Vanreusel of Belgium, the downhill concluded, and Lindsey Vonn led, 0.74 seconds ahead of her nearest competitor. Often that discipline is a battle between good downhillers fighting to ski slalom and good slalom racers trying to survive the harrowing downhill. “Of course, I’d have loved a gold medal but, honestly, this is fantastic and I’m so proud”.
She competed with a objective – not just personal glory. To be on the podium with a friend and teammate?
“She needed to go for it a little bit more, ” he said. After all, Vonn has been anointed downhill champion before, in Vancouver in 2010. “I wish I could be pulling off the slalom turns she’s doing right now, because I used to be able to do that. Would have loved to have been there and made it to the finish, but such is life”, Vonn said.
The two Coloradans, in their final Olympic events of these games, have now intersected in these Olympics at vastly different points in their careers, but with the same goals – and the ability to achieve them. “But I feel much, much better with my slalom now than I did on the slalom race day a week ago”. “So that’s the extent of my slalom training this year”.
“I’m so thankful to be here, to be on the podium in what is likely to me my last Olympic downhill race”, the USA great told reporters. She went through a divorce and then a breakup.
Jamanka was a surprise victor in the women’s bobsledding, beating three drivers who combined to sweep the medals at the Sochi Games four years ago.
Vonn’s advice may well have been to focus on herself and her skiing, not all the other things going on around her and, if that was the case, Goggia put it to good use yesterday as she avoided the mistakes that left her 11th in the super-G. “But I think he would still be proud of me for bronze, and I think that’s what counts”, Vonn said. I’ve been in the fence so many times.
Vonn added: “It’s been a great ride”.
And the women’s snowboarding Big Air final will be held, pushed forward a day because of predicted bad weather Friday. With the sun darting in and out and a light snow falling for the slalom, the artificial lights lining the course were switched on.
Vonn’s early exit in the slalom opened the door for Switzerland to capture gold and bronze. He crashed on the first of the day’s two runs and Norway’s Henrik Kristoffersen takes over as the favourite.
The last race on the Alpine side will be Saturday with the team event making its Olympic debut.
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Vonn’s Olympic career is nearly certainly over, but she has no intention of retiring from the sport-with the target of Ingemar Stenmark’s record of World Cup wins in her sights.
