The women’s team combined in Saalbach on Tuesday did not have a happy finish for American sensation Lindsey Vonn, twenty years after her world championship debut.
However, at the Milan/Cortina d’Ampezzo Games the following year, one of the most known names in world sport stated that she hoped for a more successful Olympic comeback.
Vonn found it difficult to keep up with the rest of the squad, finishing 2.54 seconds behind teammate Lauren Macuga’s lead time.
The skier and her combined partner, AJ Hurt, finished 16th because the deficit was too great for them to overcome in the slalom.
“It was not a fast run!” Vonn exclaimed during her comeback after withdrawing after losing badly to the 2019 Are world champions in bronze.
Many former skiers and commentators have publicly questioned Vonn’s life and sanity since she decided to come out of retirement, which was made feasible by a titanium knee reconstruction.
Vonn described the finger-wagging as “inappropriate and disrespectful,” implying that she was the target of discrimination due to her gender.
She clarified, however, that detractors would always exist and that a life free of “haters” most likely indicates that she isn’t performing.
– Not gliding fast –
Regarding her achievements in Saalbach, which included finishing in 15th place in the downhill, she commented, “I honestly can’t tell you what is going wrong,” pointing to equipment problems.
“Right now, technically, I’m skiing better than I was before, but on the gliding, I am not fast, so that’s something that I’ve never had a problem with, and I just need to figure it out. It’s difficult to completely alter your setup while competing for world championships, but I have a year to work it out, and I believe I will.”
Vonn, the 2010 Olympic downhill champion and 82-time World Cup champion, made her world championship debut in Bormio in 2005 and went on to win nine titles altogether, including eight medals.
Two golds in 2009 and three silvers in 2007 and 2011 were among them.
With the selection of downhill winner Breezy Johnson, who shared the title with Mikaela Shiffrin, and super-G bronze medallist Macuga, she hopes that longevity will carry over to the Olympics next year when she believes the US squad will do well.
“I believe this year was a big step up for everyone. You know, it was a lot of pleasure to see the potential when we were training in November when I first joined the squad.
“We are skiing incredibly well. All of these girls in Cortina are capable of standing on the podium; it just comes down to connecting the dots when it matters.
“I know we’re going to do incredible things together. I am truly looking forward to the Olympics next year since my squad has a lot of talent and promise.”
– ‘Full throttle’ –
“I’ll be going full throttle over spring and summer to get things going,” Vonn promised.
“It was really important to stand at the starting gate with a clear mind and execute my plan, to feel the butterflies of a big event, and to know that I’ve done what I came to do,” she stated on her time in Saalbach.
“I might not have been as fast as I wanted, but from my side, I executed my game plan. Furthermore, I executed when I needed to, which is the main thing I learnt from this week. I didn’t make any serious errors.”
Vonn claimed that her impatience had been the reason behind her failure to return to competition.
“I have to try to be kind to myself because even though I have high expectations — and I was fourth and sixth in my second and third races back — I still have work to do.
“I still have a partial knee replacement at the age of 40! I understand that I want to perform better and that everyone else does too, but I also need a little mercy, love, and patience to just give me some time to sort things out.
“It’s not as though I’m at a loss for what to do. I’m not incapable of doing it. All I need is some time to connect the dots,” she said.
