Lindsey Vonn needs to compete within the Olympic Games regardless of a torn cruciate ligament. The 41-year-old ski queen introduced this in a memorable press convention. She has to battle again tears twice – not due to the harm.
Lindsey Vonn was combative. The American needs to participate within the Olympic Games in Cortina d’Ampezzo regardless of a severe harm. “I tore my ACL,” Vonn introduced. When everybody anticipated that this could imply the cancellation of the video games, she added: “I know my chances are not as good as before. But as long as there is a chance, I will try.”
“I never expected to be here. This is the cherry on the cake. I’m not here in the shape I was hoping for. But I’m here. I’m going to fight,” Vonn mentioned.
She knew proper after the autumn final Friday that one thing unhealthy had occurred. In the hospital there was the unhappy certainty for the 41-year-old. “I didn’t cry when I saw the pictures of my knee. I didn’t have that moment this time where I realized my dream was slipping away. I’m going to do it, I’m going to do my best,” Vonn mentioned.
Her former coach and mentor Erich Sailer, who died final August on the age of 99, is a superb motivation to offer her greatest and compete regardless of the intense harm. When Vonn is requested about him, her voice cracks. Sailer, a ski pioneer from Tyrol, was Vonn’s first coach. He acknowledged and inspired her monumental expertise. She additionally needs to compete for him in Cortina.
Before Cortina, Vonn visited her mentor’s grave
“He would now say: It’s only 90 seconds. That’s nothing compared to life. He told me that before my last run at the 2019 World Championships in Åre, then I won a medal there. And I know that he would say it again,” mentioned Vonn, who visited Sailer’s grave in Telfs, Austria, shortly earlier than touring to Cortina.
At the 2019 World Cup in Sweden, Vonn resigned on the age of 34 and after 82 World Cup victories. Her physique merely could not take it anymore – the falls, accidents and pressure took their toll. The proper knee particularly was on strike. So she threw herself down the slope one final time in Sweden – with bruises and a black eye on account of a fall within the Super-G. Then she gained bronze on the World Championships.
In December 2024 she celebrated her comeback in St. Moritz – on the age of 40. Always with the aim of the Olympics in thoughts, she fought her manner again to the highest of the world. It appears that not even the deadly fall on the descent in Crans Montana can cease her.
When requested in regards to the fall, Vonn once more needed to battle again tears. Not due to the ache she was in, however due to the reactions of different starters and coaches. Immediately after Vonn’s crash, the jury determined to cease the race. “We didn’t want to risk the athletes’ safety any further,” mentioned race director Peter Gerdol in regards to the cancellation.
“I was hurt by these statements”
Drivers who have been nonetheless firstly reacted with incomprehension. “That’s ridiculous,” mentioned German Kira Weidle-Winkelmann instantly after the cancellation. Even Vonn’s teammate and world champion Breezy Johnson recalled that they’d already raced in poor visibility this winter.
Words that also damage Vonn. “I was disappointed and found it unsportsmanlike from some people I care about. When athletes fall or are injured, it’s never good. When the organizers say it’s not safe, we have to trust them. I was hurt by the statements. Some apologized, I accepted that, but overall it was disappointing,” Vonn mentioned.
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