The China Mail - Lindsey Vonn defies the odds to chase Olympic dream

Vonn, 41, is one of the most recognisable faces in women's sport, let alone alpine skiing.

She has been on the cover of Time magazine and Sports Illustrated and was a one-time girlfriend of golfer Tiger Woods, bringing attention that made her instantly visible to a wider audience than winter sports enthusiasts.

That visibility, allied with charity work and a savvy social media presence, has seamlessly combined with an enviable sporting prowess to bring her three Olympic medals -- including one gold -- eight world championship medals (two gold) and four overall World Cup overall titles.

Vonn will be in her fifth decade when she takes to the slope of Cortina d'Ampezzo next month for her fifth Olympics.

She retired after the 2019 world championships in Are but made what she dubbed a "crazy" comeback last winter.

That retirement was prompted by the chronic pain brought on by the wear and tear of decades of elite skiing -- she made her Olympic debut as a fresh-faced 17-year-old at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games and won downhill gold in 2010.

A partial titanium knee replacement in April 2024 dramatically changed her outlook.

It allowed her not only to return, pain-free, to competitive skiing after a six-year hiatus, but also to roll back the years, exceeding expectations by challenging -- and sometimes besting -- the top racers on the circuit.

- World Cup success -

Vonn has made the podium seven times this season, winning downhills in St. Moritz and Zauchensee to take her overall World Cup tally of victories to 84.

Only current teammate Mikaela Shiffrin, with 108, and ex-Swedish slalom specialist Ingemar Stenmark (86) have more wins.

The victory in St. Moritz was Vonn's first since March 2018 and it made her the oldest World Cup race winner in history, at 41.

"This might be the best and most meaningful win of my career!! Don't ever stop believing in yourself!!" Vonn, who won her first World Cup race in December 2004, said afterwards.

"I'm a pretty stubborn and driven person. I have an intense amount of competitiveness in me, it's just how I'm wired, so I'm thankful I have that ability."

In a sport where personalities do not always loom large, Vonn has well and truly transcended that divide, even endearing herself to a large fanbase in the central European skiing hotbeds of Austria and Switzerland with her fluency in German.

In October she appeared on Time's cover, under the title "The Comeback".

"I'm just a girl from Minnesota who wanted to ski fast, but this cover means I've done a lot more in my life than just ski fast," she told the magazine.

"I'm still chasing dreams, still pushing limits, still believing in what's possible. My hope is that anyone reading this remembers: never give up on yourself."

- 'Fantastic' comeback -

Vonn, now coached by ex-Norwegian racer Aksel Lund Svindal, will head to Cortina in the knowledge that she likes the course.

She has won 12 times there, her first victory coming in the downhill in January 2008. To give that some context, German rival Emma Aicher was four years old at the time.

"No one's expectations are higher than my own, so I try to keep everything in perspective," said the American, who was born in Minnesota but resettled in Vail with her family in her early teens.

"I know I'm going to have a lot of emotion in Cortina -- it's going to be a matter of controlling it."

Johan Eliasch, head of the International Ski Federation (FIS), said Vonn's presence in Cortina was "great for the Olympics".

"With her knee, I mean, any doctor would have said, 'You've got to be crazy doing a knee replacement and coming back'. But against all odds, she came back. And that's fantastic," he said.

Coach Svindal, himself a two-time Olympic gold medallist, added that his expectations of Vonn were high.

"She almost never makes mistakes now, she's so balanced and looking really good."

P.Deng--ThChM