• For more information on how to avoid pop-up ads and still support SkiTalk click HERE.

Philpug

Notorious P.U.G.
Admin
SkiTalk Tester
Joined
Nov 1, 2015
Posts
42,624
Location
Reno, eNVy
From USAToday:

ff2f2ea0-5830-4683-9279-e312a209918f-GTY_1085428632.JPG

Lindsey Vonn races during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Women's Super G on Jan. 20, in Cortina d'Ampezzo Italy. (Photo: Francis Bompard/Agence Zoom, Getty Images)​

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — What was evident all weekend for Lindsey Vonn became clear to everyone else on Sunday.

The American skier’s surgically repaired knees simply don’t let her apply the power she requires to win races anymore.

The pain is too severe; the psychological impact too much to bear; her pride too great.

No wonder that Vonn is considering moving up her retirement.

After failing to finish a World Cup super-G, Vonn said leaving the sport immediately “is a possibility.”

“But I’m emotional right now,” Vonn quickly added. “I have to really think clearly about that. It’s not a decision I make lightly or quickly.”

Vonn added to reporters, “I’ll let you guys know.”

She was more decisive when interviewed by Swiss TV, saying “now it’s time to listen to my body and it’s time to say goodbye.”

Vonn was charging and in contention for a podium spot until a slight bobble bounced her slightly off track. Then she clipped a gate and couldn’t apply pressure on her right leg to force her way back onto the racing line, prompting her to miss the next gate.

And with that, Vonn stood up out of her tuck, hung her head and skied diagonally off the course.

“I’ve had four surgeries on my right knee. I’ve got no LCL (lateral collateral ligament) on my left knee. I’ve got two braces on. There’s only so much I can handle and I might have reached my maximum,” Vonn said. “I’m not sure. I’ve got to take a couple days’ time and really think about things.”

Vonn was planning on retiring in December. She returned this weekend from her latest injury – to her left knee – but her best result in three races was ninth in Saturday’s downhill.

Vonn needs five more wins to break the all-time World Cup record of 86 victories held by Swedish great Ingemar Stenmark but that seems like the last thing on her mind now.

“I really don’t know what to think at this point,” she said. “Definitely isn’t the way I had hoped that things would go. I’ve been able to fight through a lot of injuries in my career but I think my injuries might get the best of me at this point.”


While Vonn’s most recent injury was to her left knee – she hyperextended it and sprained a ligament while training in November – her right knee is permanently damaged from previous crashes. She’s racing with braces on both knees and goes through an extensive rehab process each evening to keep competing.

Mikaela Shiffrin, Vonn’s American teammate, won Sunday’s race.

While Shiffrin is gaining on her – 54 wins to Vonn’s 82 – for now Vonn remains the winningest female skier of all-time.

“Her mentality was something we had never seen before,” said Tina Weirather of Liechtenstein, who finished second Sunday. “She raised the whole sport to the next level.”

Vonn was met by Olympic downhill champion Sofia Goggia in the finish area. When Goggia presented her with a bouquet of flowers, Vonn broke down into tears.

“I was just overwhelmed with emotions – and it was really special that she came,” said Vonn, who has developed a friendship with her Italian rival in recent seasons. “It really means a lot to me.”

Vonn, who holds the record of 12 wins in Cortina, also broke down into tears at Saturday night’s public bib draw when organizers showed a video of her triumphs on the Olympia delle Tofane course.

Cortina was where Vonn achieved the first podium result of her career back in 2004 and where she broke the all-time women’s World Cup record with victory No. 63 in 2015.

“It’s more emotional than I expected. You know that the end is coming but it doesn’t make it any easier,” Vonn said. “I’ve been racing here in Cortina for 18 years. It’s always been a great place for me. Some amazing memories. I was hoping to make some more amazing memories this weekend – and they were amazing – just not the way I expected.

“I cried. It was so thoughtful of them to do that for me,” Vonn added of the video tribute. “I don’t expect things like that and so to have that for my last race really means a lot to me. It’s more than skiing. I hope to leave an impression that is not just about racing.”

Vonn was in contention for a top-three place until she went out.

“It’s positive but I’m not able to ski the way I want to – the way I know I can,” she said. “I’m just really inhibited with my body. My body is inhibiting me from doing what I want to do.”

Vonn wasn’t the only top skier who failed to finish. More than a third of the 61 starters also DNF’d on a course set by Vonn’s longtime coach Alex Hoedlmoser.

“I told him to set an easy course but I think it was just a little bit different in some places than people expected,” Vonn said. “I knew that that section where I went out would be difficult but I was trying to let my skis go and try to carry speed and I just underestimated it a little bit and went through the panel.”

Shiffrin, who has replaced Vonn as the top U.S. skier and who is on course for a third straight overall World Cup title, earned her first win in Cortina.

“When I was younger she was someone I looked up to like crazy,” Shiffrin said of Vonn. “I was doing book reports on her. I was one of those fans.”


LINK to Article
 

Andy Mink

Everyone loves spring skiing but not in January
Moderator
SkiTalk Tester
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
12,912
Location
Reno
You want so badly to see her win but if the body's not willing it won't happen no matter how much the mind wants it. Very sad but she did lift the sport to new levels.
 

Dwight

Practitioner of skiing, solid and liquid
Admin
Moderator
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Dec 13, 2015
Posts
7,441
Location
Central Wisconsin
It's time to watch more hockey. Great career, but the legs are toast.
 

James

Out There
Instructor
Joined
Dec 2, 2015
Posts
24,453
She was looking pretty good till the error.
I wonder if the pain distracts her just enough that she makes fairly serious line errors. Like in the Olympics. Or maybe it just is she doesn't have the strength/too much pain to get back on line.
 

Bad Bob

I golf worse than I ski.
Skier
Joined
Dec 2, 2015
Posts
5,843
Location
West of CDA South of Canada
She has had an amazing career and has been a joy to watch. The body has a way of breaking down before the will has left.

Suspect that she has a few options for the future. Could definitely see her doing tv to keep her name out there.

Thanks for the memories LV, look forward to seeing the next direction.
 

TheArchitect

Working to improve all the time
Skier
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Dec 4, 2016
Posts
3,383
Location
Metrowest Boston
Really sad to hear. I've been such a fan of hers and wanted to see her break the record. I hope that her injuries heal as best they can so her post-ski career isn't too painful.
 

Jim Kenney

Travel Correspondent
Team Gathermeister
Contributor
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 27, 2015
Posts
3,588
Location
VA
Sometimes the greater the competitor, the harder it is to let go. She is a tremendous athlete and ambassador for the sport and is capable of many more positive and important things. Live long and prosper.
 

NZRob

Skiing the Rock
Skier
Joined
Oct 8, 2017
Posts
407
Location
New Zealand
Amazing career, 17 years is serious longevity - there aren't many men or women who have lasted that long, let alone been as consistently competitive from relatively early in the career.....the record is just a number, she's already an extremely strong candidate in any conversation about who is the GOAT. Let's wait for Hirscher and Shiffrin to retire and then have that debate :)
 

Muleski

So much better than a pro
Inactive
Joined
Nov 14, 2015
Posts
5,243
Location
North of Boston
She was all over the place wither emotions yesterday, and all over the place in her various interviews. It's over...then....it's not. What we do know is that she will never race at Cortina again, and like Lake Louise, it's a special place for her, the site of many wins. She was overwhelmed there over the past five or so days.

But let's be clear, she has NOT yet made the decision, or at least made it pubic, to end her career. I had that on pretty good intel last night.

She has also been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and love form her fans, her fellow competitors, coaches and techs from all of the federations. It sounds like she has been nicely advised that she does not need to give another ounce of herself to the sport. Certainly nothing to prove, and nothing of consequence to achieve. It sounds like many are, nicely, telling her that she will have enormous respect once she does end it.

It also sounds like she has come to the conclusion that she can't win again. That's an important factor. The "record" which frankly meant more to her, her management team, and sponsors like Head and RedBull than to anybody else, is just not going to happen. Guys like @Primoz, who is working on the WC most every weekend know that the Stenmark Record really is not a record. Sad to say, but it's kind of a joke among many. It's more of a media thing than anything else. But still, it was a big goal for LV. I am positive that her handlers feel that it could be spun to have a lot of economic value.

I personally hope that she does stop, now. Her right knee is even more unstable than her recently injured left. It's the result of reconstructions, multiple surgeries, tib plateau problems. It is just "shot", and it sounds like she will need a replacement before too long, after retirement. He left knee has no LCL, and had been under the knife quite bit. Coming back on it now is clearly problematic. LV on two knee braces is just not LV. They can't stabilize her knees as much as is needed. I hear. Sad.

In the summer and fall, there were comments and reports that she could not turn with her normal energy and pressure on her right footers. Video would show very different movement and strength on left footers versus right. Then she had the training crash, and the result is that she is struggling on both legs, both directions. She is tough, and always has been. It's not, I hear, a pain issue. It's frustration that her body is so broken, and will not "work" the way she needs it to. There is no rehabbing this. She has wanted and dreamed of going out on top. So, sure, she is a big bundle of emotions.

Despite the thread headline, a friend close to this{right now} tells me that as of dinner time last night, she had not made a decision. Perhaps she has today. Her emotions are so raw and out there. She has had a big and fragile ego, wanted to be loved, has had her doubts, and wow....after this event, it seems like there should be no doubts. Actually after the past couple of years there should be none. She has "changed", IMO, for the better in recent years. Reeber her being so proud of her bronze medal in the OWG DH last year? She's a different, more mature, lady.

My hunch is that we'll see her at the FIS World Champs in Are, and we'll see a send-off of some sort there, and I think we'll see the long planned one at Lake Louise at the start of next season. No more racing, though. That's a guess at this point. No conformation. Send off could also be at World Cup Finals.....no clue. Could even be one at US Nationals, though I very seriously doubt that. Like a 2% chance, if that.

I wish her well. She has given so much, and has been so great. I doubt if we'll ever see such a dominant speed skier, of either gender. And we should also remember, she has won on the WC in every discipline. A very long exceptional career.

MS and MH are a different conversation. MH may very well retire at the end of this season. I would bet money that MS retires after the 2022 OWG's. This is hard work, and exhausting, year round. In the case of all three, the there highest paid in the sport, they will have a very "healthy" income stream from the ski industry, let alone follow up careers, when they hang them up.

Just my $.02. Have not been posting much lately. Thought I might add something here.
 

Tricia

The Velvet Hammer
Admin
SkiTalk Tester
Joined
Nov 1, 2015
Posts
27,298
Location
Reno
I can't even imagine how emotional this is, especially knowing how her body is riddled with pain from so many injuries.
She is one tough cookie.
When she does make her decision, I'm sure it will be an emotional press conference.
 

NZRob

Skiing the Rock
Skier
Joined
Oct 8, 2017
Posts
407
Location
New Zealand
Nice insider insights in your $0.02c @Muleski ... thanks

The "record" which frankly meant more to her, her management team, and sponsors like Head and RedBull than to anybody else, is just not going to happen. Guys like @Primoz, who is working on the WC most every weekend know that the Stenmark Record really is not a record. Sad to say, but it's kind of a joke among many. It's more of a media thing than anything else. But still, it was a big goal for LV. I am positive that her handlers feel that it could be spun to have a lot of economic value.
.

I agree re the record, it didn't mean anything much to me, in regard to her place amongst the greats anyway - that was always assured. I guess being able to make a claim as the greatest was a motivation? Which in itself is always open to endless debate anyway.

Is that what you mean talking about Stenmark's record not being a record, or being a joke?

'Handlers spinning things for economic value' - shudder. There's an endearing, romantic line to add to LV's autobiography....
 

Muleski

So much better than a pro
Inactive
Joined
Nov 14, 2015
Posts
5,243
Location
North of Boston
Stenmark's "record" is nearly a milestone and a record. Stenmark had an incredible career, without question. Amazing. But, the eras were SO different. The fields were different, the disciplines were different, everything was different. For example, LV has close to 30 SG wins. There was no SG for the majority of Stenmark's career.

Some people really like to get worked up over the number, both loyal fans of Stenmark, and super fans of LV. The people who I know who are IN the sport recognize LV's results, longevity, plowing through all of her injuries, etc. Along with her competitive fire. Lots to admire. But the "record?" Does get a lot of interest.

And surely reaching that milestone would have some economic benefit. LV is carefully crafting things for her next career{s}. She doesn't have 1.6 Mil people following her on Instagram because she likes people. She'll do just fine when the competitive chapter closes. It's big business. No different than any other high level professional athlete, IMO.
 

Roundturns

Getting off the lift
Skier
Joined
Nov 29, 2017
Posts
395
Stenmark's "record" is nearly a milestone and a record. Stenmark had an incredible career, without question. Amazing. But, the eras were SO different. The fields were different, the disciplines were different, everything was different. For example, LV has close to 30 SG wins. There was no SG for the majority of Stenmark's career.

Some people really like to get worked up over the number, both loyal fans of Stenmark, and super fans of LV. The people who I know who are IN the sport recognize LV's results, longevity, plowing through all of her injuries, etc. Along with her competitive fire. Lots to admire. But the "record?" Does get a lot of interest.

And surely reaching that milestone would have some economic benefit. LV is carefully crafting things for her next career{s}. She doesn't have 1.6 Mil people following her on Instagram because she likes people. She'll do just fine when the competitive chapter closes. It's big business. No different than any other high level professional athlete, IMO.


I remember a number of years ago seeing Cindy Nelson walking up to the finish area at Golden Peak at Vail. She was limping very badly. As pointed out in previous posts by those in the know, the sport extracts a lot from its participants.
No doubt Lindsey Vonn has great marketability after skiing, why else would you race all glamed up with the makeup ect. I have seen her gym training routines and no doubt she put the time, effort, and sweat into being the best.
I remember her saying she vividly remembers skiing top to bottom Riva Ridge -Tourist Trap non stop at Vail for the first time. She probably was about 12 years old too. Anyway I won't share how stops I make skiing that same run.
Feel bad for her that her racing career is likely over.
 

NZRob

Skiing the Rock
Skier
Joined
Oct 8, 2017
Posts
407
Location
New Zealand
Stenmark's "record" is nearly a milestone and a record. Stenmark had an incredible career, without question. Amazing. But, the eras were SO different. The fields were different, the disciplines were different, everything was different. For example, LV has close to 30 SG wins. There was no SG for the majority of Stenmark's career.

Some people really like to get worked up over the number, both loyal fans of Stenmark, and super fans of LV. The people who I know who are IN the sport recognize LV's results, longevity, plowing through all of her injuries, etc. Along with her competitive fire. Lots to admire. But the "record?" Does get a lot of interest.
.

Yeh I'm with you on that...it's like any conversation of sporting greats across eras, just impossible - the context of each era is too different to really make any kind of objective comparison. Whether she's 5 short or 5 past Stenmark's number, the debate would still rage.
 

Sponsor

Top